The position was first created in 1854, when the Tennessee General Assembly established the Bureau of Agriculture. It was the first agency created in Tennessee. It was organized primarily to promote agriculture through fairs and livestock expositions. The original agency had a staff of nine, including the Governor and eight others who met twice a year to conduct state business. When Tennessee seceded from the Union in 1861, the Bureau was suspended.
In 1871, the Bureau was re-organized and re-constituted. It was structured as it had been before the war, and it was still composed of the Governor and eight others. In 1875, the General Assembly passed an act creating the Bureau of Agriculture, Statistics, and Mines. This new agency had the same responsibilities as the former, but also had oversight of state statistical collection and regulation of mines. The head of agency was now known as the Commissioner of Agriculture, Statistics, and Mines. For a brief time in the late nineteenth century, the agency was also responsible for immigration management in the state.
Modern Cabinet-level department
In 1923, the name of the agency was officially changed to the "Department of Agriculture," and the agency's oversight of statistics and mines was removed to other state departments. The Commissioner's title was restored to "Commissioner of Agriculture," and he was recognized, as the director of the State's oldest agency, as the Cabinet member with the greatest seniority. In 1961, the commissioner and his department moved out of the State's downtown Nashville offices and into a new facility south of the city called the Elligton Agricultural Center. The facility is a working farm and named for Buford Ellington, the 40th Governor of Tennessee. The center sits on 200 acres, and the department's relocation there meant that Tennessee was the first State to locate its department of agriculture on a working farm.
The Commissioner is appointed by the Governor and serves at his pleasure. He directs the work of the Department of Agriculture. The Department is charged with promoting wise uses of Tennessee's agricultural and forest resources, developing economic opportunities for Tennesseans, and ensuring safe and dependable food and fiber for the State. The department also oversees food safety, pesticide use, and fuel quality and fairness for Tennessean consumers. The Commissioner organizes the department into four divisions:
