NC Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler Announces He Will Seek Re-Election
Browns Summit, NC – November 25, 2019 – North Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture Steve Troxler today announced he plans to seek re-election to his fifth term.
Troxler heads up the NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the largest of any Council of State agency in terms of employment with a budget of $275 million annually. This year the budget swelled to over $600 million as the Department administered a legislatively-budgeted disaster relief program for farm families and delivered more than $80 million in Department of Agriculture and Department of Defense funds.
“I’m really proud that our legislature appropriated $240 million in disaster relief funds and we at the Department of Agriculture were quickly able to get this food in the hands of people who desperately needed it. In times of disaster our Department has responded to help the people of North Carolina over and over again,” he said.
Troxler, a Guilford County farmer, took office in 2005. At that time the economic impact of agriculture and agri-business was $68.3 billion with 631,000 people employed in the industry. Today agriculture and agri-business is the number one industry in North Carolina at $91.8 billion produced annually from 728,000 employees.
“I’m proud that the Department of Agriculture has been able to assist agriculture and agri-business in this growth through marketing and agricultural research,” Troxler said.
The Department has 21 divisions with offices in 99 of the State’s counties. It employs about 2,000 full-time positions with that count growing by hundreds during seasonal part-time periods.
Troxler was first elected to lead the Department of Agriculture in 2004. In the 2016 election he received more votes than any other candidate on the ballot.
Troxler received his B.S. degree in Conservation from NC State University in 1974. Troxler owns Troxler Farms, a Browns Summit farming operation. He and Sharon, his wife of 47 years, have two sons, Shawn Troxler of Raleigh and Jeremy Troxler of Greensboro, daughters-in-law Lauren Troxler and Margaret Troxler, and five grandchildren. The Troxlers also have two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels.
