Cockrell brings a common man approach to his bid to be Mississippi’s next Agriculture Commissioner

Cockrell brings a common man approach.

Key points

• As previously documented, Gipson has held the Agriculture Commissioner seat since 2018, having first been appointed to the post by former Governor Phil Bryant (R).
• Current Commissioner Andy Gipson (R) will not be seeking re-election, choosing instead to run for Governor in 2027.
• My grandpa was the first one on the old farmers market off Woodrow Wilson when the state first built it in 1948, he remarked.
• That is how Kyle Cockrell described himself this week in an interview with Magnolia Tribune.
• Cockrell remarked when his father died in 2009, his oldest brother took over the business.

Cockrell brings a common man approach to his bid to be Mississippi's next Agriculture Commissioner. Kyle Cockrell (Photo from Cockrell's Facebook page).

"I'm not a preacher, but I'm a Christian. I'm not a bully, but I fight for the individuals. I'm not a professor, but I can teach something, " the first-time statewide candidate remarked. "I'm just a down-to-earth, common-sense man that wants to help the people and work for Mississippi and earn the paycheck that I get from the people." "I'm just a down-to-earth, common-sense man."

Meanwhile, the central Mississippi owner of Cockrell's Farmers Market is the first candidate to throw his hat in the ring for the Magnolia State's next Agriculture and Commerce Commissioner.

Current Commissioner Andy Gipson (R) will not be seeking re-election, choosing instead to run for Governor in 2027. Cockrell, a Republican, remarked he was raised in the agriculture industry.

"I'm a third-generation farmer. My grandpa was the first one on the old farmers market off Woodrow Wilson when the state first built it in 1948, " he remarked. "My dad, he built Freshway Produce on Old Canton Road, and I bought the Old Fannin Road farmers market back in 2015."

Cockrell remarked when his father died in 2009, his oldest brother took over the business. He worked with his brother for years until he had the opportunity to purchase his own place.

"We've just been in the agriculture business our whole lives, and I just got a passion for agriculture and heart for it, " he remarked.

That upbringing led him to believe farmers and agriculture producers need a voice as Commissioner.

"I just think the farmer needs somebody that they can sit down and talk to, and we try to just get stuff done for them, " Cockrell remarked. "It's major, man. I mean, it's massive. The agriculture department, it takes everything regarding it to keep Mississippi going. Notably, a lot of stuff individuals don't even think concerning."

His passion for the industry drives his desire to support the residents working in it in Mississippi.

"If I can save one person's farm, because we're losing them right and left, but if I can save one person's farm and help that farmer to keep going generation after generation, I mean, it's all worth it, " Cockrell remarked.

At the top of Cockrell's priority list if elected Mississippi's Agriculture and Commerce Commissioner is building relationships that produce results for farmers.

"Number one is to sit down with the farmer, talk to them, see what they need, because they're the ones out there every day working, " he explained. "I have to sit down with the loggers, the poultry, the fish, the soybeans, the row crops, the farm-to-table growers. I mean, every single one of them, and let's all figure out what's the best for Mississippi agriculture. That's going to be my number one point, is to sit down and talk to the farmers, have it where they can call me anytime, and I sit down and listen, and let's fix the difficulty."

With him in the role of commissioner, Cockrell remarked farmers will have someone they can talk, whose not leveraging his work and their trust for a future bid for higher office.

"I'm not running for Agriculture Commissioner to move up the ladder, " he continued. "Like I remarked earlier, my heart and passion is in agriculture, and that's where I want to stay. I'm not doing it for political gain or anything like that. I'm here to support the farmer, and if he believes in me and he trusts me to do the right thing, I will go to the House, to the Senate, to the Lieutenant Governor, to the Governor, build these relationships and try to secure things passed for the farmer."

Cockrell additionally wants to see a renewed push in the state's education system to encourage young residents to enter the industry while providing them with training to support them succeed.

"We need to build up our ag, our vo-tech, our, everything that has to do with agriculture, " he remarked. "Since you say, well, vo-tech, you know, that's plumbing, electricity, and all kind of stuff. Yes, you don't think that farmer has to have the knowledge in plumbing to do irrigation? That farmer has to have the knowledge in electrical to go out there and fix a motor on a grain bin. I mean, it takes everything working together, and that's one of my major pet peeves, is to assist our youth obtain the knowledge of how to do stuff to have a trade if they do become a farmer."

Cockrell remarked cultivating that knowledge is a must so future farmers do not have to call somebody "and use all their time waiting on somebody to come fix stuff that they should know how to do and fix themselves."

He believes that Mississippi's school system can produce the next generation of farmers and agriculture workers "if we get the funding for our ag and our vo-tech and everything and build it up where it used to be, like when I was a kid, we can have some of the top farmers in Mississippi."

"We obtained kids out there that's third, fourth, fifth generation farmers. They've been on the farm their whole life. They're learning every day when they're helping their parents out on the farm, " he elaborated. "But if we don't have top-notch, number one farmers around, we obtained to secure them. We obtained to secure them educated."

As commissioner, Cockrell remarked he would be that someone to encourage young residents to create a career in the industry. Taking Care of the State Fairground.

Taking care of the state fairground is one of the duties of the Agriculture Commissioner. For Cockrell, he remarked that means working with lawmakers and other state office-holders to ensure the facilities are well maintained and funded.

"I want them to support us with the fairgrounds. Anything that the fairground needs, I need them to pass a budget for it since that goes back to educating, too, " he stated. "You obtain to come to the equine center. You obtain to see how the horses have assisted Americans from day one. I mean, we had the horses and the mules before we had the tractors and the major equipment. And I think the individuals needs to realize how notable the horse industry is, how significant the cattle industry is. Just like showing cattle. That gives our kids something to do."

Cockrell sees the fairgrounds, the State Fair and all that goes with the facilities as a way of selling the industry and future generations on investing themselves into it.

"That's a major part of raising our kids, and residents need to understand that. We obtained to promote and let residents know what's really going on, " he noted.

In practice, the commissioner candidate knows lawmakers have a lot on their plate. Being able to build open lines of communication will be key to ensuring the department is well funded.

"Our legislators and all that, man, it's so major, the stuff that they have to go through. I mean, every one of them, you obtained to respect them. Even though they obtain a lot of downgrades and all that, but you secured to respect them since they're the ones that we go to and talk to to secure things passed. And we have to work together, " Cockrell remarked. "You obtained to have relationships with the House, the Senate, Lieutenant Governor, Governor. Since our agriculture, that's our number one industry, and we need to build that up right. I mean, if we don't fight for it and back it, what's Mississippi going to be?"

Meanwhile, the state agriculture commissioner oversees the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce. State law provides that the commissioner is to have "a competent knowledge of agriculture; mining, manufacturing, statistics and general industries and he or she must be an experienced and practical agriculturist."

Notably, the law additionally charges the commissioner with numerous duties in the areas of development and marketing of agriculture and commerce, regulation of related industries and investigation of agricultural crimes.

As previously documented, Gipson has held the Agriculture Commissioner seat since 2018, having first been appointed to the post by former Governor Phil Bryant (R). Gipson then ran for a full four-year term in 2019, winning the election with over 58% of the vote. He won re-election four years afterwards by a similar margin. The Republican did not face a primary election challenger in either statewide race.

Who will replace Gipson and oversee the department tasked with regulating and promoting one of the biggest industries in the state is at present anyone's guess. No clear favorite has emerged to date. Nevertheless, some names have kicked off to bubble up.

Besides Cockrell, State Rep. Vince Mangold (R-HD 53) and Director for Rural Development for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Dane Maxwell are rumored to be considering bids for Agriculture Commissioner. State Senator Neil Whaley (R-SD 10) has additionally been mentioned in a feasible GOP primary. On the Democrat side, no one has stood out yet, but there is a chance that past candidates Rickey Cole and Robert Bradford step into the race.

In terms of campaign finances, Cockrell does not have a report on file with the Secretary of State's office at this time. Mangold and Whaley's January 2026 report indicated both with a cash on hand balance of almost $40, 000. Maxwell additionally does not have a report showing. As for the potential Democrats, Cole's January report listed $1, 400 while Bradford documented $5, 400.

Cockrell remarked this week that he knows he needs to raise funds to be competitive, but he is not going to trade donations for special interest favors.

"I am going to the biggest and all the way to the smallest donors. I'm telling them if they want somebody in there that will listen to them and see what their point of view is and carry it to the legislators and sit down and talk to them additionally and find a solution, I'm the man for the job, " he stated. "And it's working out pretty good."

He observed that he is not "100% for the big guy all the time, and I'm not going to kiss butt to get something done that is not for the people just to get a donation or get anything like that."

"My grandpa informed me years ago. He remarked, 'Son, you can provide a man a million dollars and he won't respect you. You feed that man, you obtained a friend for life.' And that's the way I'm approaching this, " Cockrell stated of this fundraising efforts. "Yes, we may not have a major amount of capital in the campaign fund. We may not have all these major guys running the campaign, but it takes the residents. That's who votes. And if I can obtain the residents, we can win this election."

Cockrell remarked residents have informed him, "Oh, you secured to have the Farm Bureau. They tell me you have to have Cattlemen's Association. You have to have this. You have to have that."

In short, cockrell brings a common man approach to his bid to be Mississippi’ s is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.