MONTGOMERY — Douglas Mayor Corey Hill is running to be the next Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries.
The office will be without an incumbent in 2026 since the commissioner, Rick Pate, is term-limited. Pate has been linked to possible runs for governor or lieutenant governor in 2026.
Hill told 1819 News recently he’d be pursuing the Republican nomination in 2026 and was already on track to visit all 67 counties by the end of May.
“I grew up on a farm and still currently farm but my day job (is) we have a poultry farm, a cattle farm, and a grocery store. Food safety is important to me. I understand that. Over the years, we’ve had recalls in the grocery store. When you eat in Alabama, you don’t think about if your food is safe or not to eat. We’re going to continue to fight to still make that a reality,” Hill said.
Hill described the commissioner’s job as a “very important role in state government.”
“Regulations are hard on farmers. We’re going to work to maintain those at a low level,” Hill said. “The Sweet Grown Alabama program the ag department has done has been phenomenal and I want to continue to expand that. Right now, there’s a program where they take farmers’ food and sell it to the schools’ lunch rooms. I’d love to expand that program. There was a rural crime division at one time that ran through the ag department, I’d love to bring that back. A lot of times, somebody steals your cattle trailer or your cows, it’s tough to get your local PD or your Sheriff’s Office, and they had a division for that at one time. I’d love to get that back in place. That’s important to our rural folks in the county.”
He continued, “Agriculture is the number one economy in the state and we want to continue to make that be the forefront in people’s minds and give the credit to the farmers that they deserve. There’s just so many things that the ag department touches in everyday life.”
Hill, a lifelong resident of Douglas, is a graduate of Douglas High School and Snead State College and attended Jacksonville State University.
Other candidates for the Republican nomination for Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries in 2026 include State Sen. Jack Williams (R-Wilmer) and Christina Woerner McInnis.
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