Republican Steve Troxler was sworn in for his third term as the state's Agriculture Commissioner in January 2013. 

As commissioner, Troxler oversees the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which handles everything from farm product marketing to the North Carolina Forest Service, the State Fair and inspectors that ensure grocery store scanners ring up purchases accurately. 

State law requires the commissioner of agriculture to be a "practical farmer." Troxler grew up in the Guilford County community of Browns Summit and still lives on a farm there. 

Troxler was first elected commissioner in 2004, although faced a delay in taking his seat after a voting machine malfunction obscured the results of a close election. 

According to his official biography, Troxler graduated from North Carolina State University in 1974 with a bachelor's degree in conservation, with a concentration in environmental studies. He is married, with two grown children and four grandchildren.