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 people. I’m not a professor, but I can teach something,” the first-time statewide candidate said. “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.”
That is how Kyle Cockrell described himself this week in an interview with Magnolia Tribune.
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.
“I’m not a preacher, but I’m a Christian. I’m not a bully, but I fight for the people. I’m not a professor, but I can teach something,” the first-time statewide candidate said. “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.”
Raised in Ag
Cockrell, a Republican, said 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 [in Jackson] when the state first built it in 1948,” he said. “My dad, he built Freshway Produce on Old Canton Road, and I bought the Old Fannin Road farmers market back in 2015.”
Cockrell said when his father died in 2009, his oldest brother took over the company. He worked with his brother for years until he had the opportunity to buy 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 said.
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 said. “It’s big, man. I mean, it’s huge. The agriculture department, it takes everything about it to keep Mississippi going. A lot of stuff people don’t even think about.”
His passion for the industry drives his desire to help the people 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 said.
Top Priorities if Elected
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 problem.”
With him in the role of commissioner, Cockrell said 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 added. “Like I said 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 help 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 get things passed for the farmer.”
Cockrell also wants to see a renewed push in the state’s education system to encourage young people to enter the industry while providing them with training to help them succeed.
“We need to build up our ag, our vo-tech, our [Future Farmers of America], everything that has to do with agriculture,” he said. “Because 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 big pet peeves, is to help our youth get the knowledge of how to do stuff to have a trade if they do become a farmer.”
Cockrell said 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 got 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 got to get them. We got to get them educated.”
As commissioner, Cockrell said he would be that someone to encourage young people to make 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 said that means working with lawmakers and other state officials to ensure the facilities are well maintained and funded.
“I want them to help us with the fairgrounds. Anything that the fairground needs, I need them to pass a budget for it because that goes back to educating, too,” he said. “You get to come to the equine center. You get to see how the horses have helped Americans from day one. I mean, we had the horses and the mules before we had the tractors and the big equipment. And I think the people needs to realize how important the horse industry is, how important 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 big part of raising our kids, and people need to understand that. We got to promote and let people know what’s really going on,” he said.
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 big, the stuff that they have to go through. I mean, every one of them, you got to respect them. Even though they get a lot of downgrades and all that, but you got to respect them because they’re the ones that we go to and talk to to get things passed. And we have to work together,” Cockrell said. “You got to have relationships with the House, the Senate, Lieutenant Governor, Governor. And we need to build that up right, because our agriculture, that’s our number one industry. I mean, if we don’t fight for it and back it, what’s Mississippi going to be?”
Wide Open Field
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.”
The law also 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 reported, 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 later 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 currently anyone’s guess. No clear favorite has emerged to date. However, some names have started 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 also been mentioned in a possible 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 showed both with a cash on hand balance of nearly $40,000. Maxwell also does not have a report showing. As for the potential Democrats, Cole’s January report listed $1,400 while Bradford reported $5,400.
Cockrell said 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 also and find a solution, I’m the man for the job,” he said. “And it’s working out pretty good.”
He noted 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 told me years ago. He said, ‘Son, you can give a man a million dollars and he won’t respect you. You feed that man, you got a friend for life.’ And that’s the way I’m approaching this,” Cockrell said of this fundraising efforts. “Yes, we may not have a big amount of money in the campaign fund. We may not have all these big guys running the campaign, but it takes the people. That’s who votes. And if I can get the people, we can win this election.”
Cockrell said people have told him, “Oh, you got 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.”
“Yes, I believe that, but you got to have a common person also, because that’s the ones going to punch that card when they go in there to vote,” he continued. “And if I don’t have my mind set on those people and what they want, because they’re the one that goes down there and buys the cattle. They’re the one that goes buys the insurance. Those people are the ones that keep Mississippi growing. And if I don’t put my focus on them, I mean, what we going to do, just sit around with a bunch of big companies? They’ll go out of business without the people.”
Working Across Party Lines
Cockrell has been active in the central Mississippi Republican Party for many years. Yet, he said he knows he will need to lead the department as commissioner with an eye towards everyone’s best interest, regardless of party affiliation.
“I believe in the Republican Party. I was the chairman of the Republican Party of Smith County,” he said. “And I’ll say—I mean, this is going to sound hypocritical, but I’m an honest man. I believe in the old Democrat Party also.”
By that, Cockrell clarified “not this new stuff and all that” comes with today’s Democratic Party.
“But, you know, just about all Mississippi was Democrat back in the ’70s and ’80s. Them old farmers. That’s our farming base. Not saying they’re not Republican or anything like that,” he said. “What I’m trying to say, you got to have both parties working together.”
“Now, when they start all this big left-wing radical stuff, no, that’s not the Democrat Party I’m talking about,” he added.
Proud of His Wife, Family
Cockrell spoke with glowing praise about his wife and family, knowing he will need their support and encouragement over the next year as he runs in this statewide campaign for Agriculture and Commerce Commissioner.
“People around here can tell you how my wife is. She’s strong. She’s supportive. When she backs something, she don’t care if it’s the governor standing there. She’s going to approach it and tell them her opinion. It don’t matter,” he said. “I wish I could be more like her in a way and stand up to all the situations that pops up around this market. She’s just unbelievable.”
His daughter is a nurse. For now, she has chosen to bypass the family business in pursuit of her healthcare career.
“That was going to be the fourth generation for farmers market,” Cockrell said, “But I got a grandson and a granddaughter on the way. Maybe it’ll just skip a generation and they can take over.”
He does wish his grandfather and father were still alive to see him run for the statewide office.
“My grandpa has passed away, my dad’s passed away. I just wish they was here to see it. You know, maybe they’re looking down and they’re smiling now, but I just wish they could see me trying to help the people by running for Agriculture Commissioner,” Cockrell said.
He said having the support of his family came before he even thought about running for the office.
“Our family is what’s most important, because you go home to them after you’ve been out on the campaign trail all day listening to people and everything,” Cockrell said.
He said the campaign has actually brought his wife and him closer as they catch up each day. When he is tired and just wants to rest, Cockrell said his wife tells him, “Get you another gear and let’s talk about it.”
“And I’m like, dang, she’s right.”
Not a Career Politician
Cockrell said his being a down-to-earth, common-sense man, not a career politician, is what he believes Mississippians want in the next Agriculture and Commerce Commissioner.
“I can sit here and I can quote you stats on everything about agriculture. I can print you out an AI speech to make you thing I’m a good talker,” he said. “But until I get in that truck and drive and meet you down at that farm or that small business and talk to the people, what good is having all them stats? What good is being able to speak?”
But if he has Mississippi people backing him, Cockrell said, “We can win this thing. And I believe that they will.”
“Once I go and see and talk to them and they see me on the campaign trail, they’ll know that I’m a common man, just like most of them and they’ll back me.”
