D. Leslie Tindal has served the State of South Carolina as Commissioner of Agriculture since he was first elected in November of 1982. A lifelong South Carolina farmer in Clarendon and Sumter counties, he was selected as one of the top 15 farmers in America for Management and Efficiency by Ford Motor Company and has been deeply involved in many local, state, and national farm organizations throughout the years.

    Very active in market development worldwide Commissioner Tindal is past President of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA), an organization comprised of Commissioners, Secretaries, and Directors of the Departments of Agriculture in the 50 states and 4 trust territories. A devoted advocate of research for agricultural development, he is currently Chairman of NASDA's Agriculture Research Task Force. He has also served on a national level as Secretary and President of the American Soybean Association and as a member of the USDA's Agriculture Policy Advisory Committee.

    Statewide, Commissioner Tindal has served as President of the South Carolina Crop Improvement, South Carolina Cattlemen, South Carolina Seedsmen, and South Carolina Soybean Associations and is Past President of his County Farm Bureau. He also served for ten years on the Board of Trustees of Clemson University and upon his election as Commissioner of Agriculture was named Lifetime Trustee Emeritus.

    An alumnus of Furman University, Commissioner Tindal has received many honors and awards throughout the years for his dedication to and leadership in a variety of agricultural and civic organizations. He and his wife, May, have four children and eight grandchildren and remain deeply involved in the farming operation which has been in the Tindal family for over 200 years.

back