Candidate Biography (submitted by campaign):

Ronnie was born in North Carolina to Mr. and Mrs. Troy Ansley. The youngest of five children, Ronnie was raised in Gaston, North Carolina, a town of approximately 800 residents in the northeastern part of the state where he earned Scouting's highest honor, becoming an Eagle Scout at age 14. His family's home had no running water until he was age 5 and he never had an indoor bathroom until he attended college.

Upon completing his undergraduate degree at NCSU in agricultural education, in which he did his student teaching in Franklin, NC, Ronnie worked as a sales representative selling livestock feed and health products in Western and Central North Carolina. While working as a sales representative, Ronnie attended Clemson University and received a Master's degree in agricultural education.

After receiving his Juris Doctor in 1991 from Mississippi College School of Law, Ronnie returned home to North Carolina to establish his law practice, providing legal services to private citizens, juveniles, and indigent clients.

Since a very early age, Ronnie has been active in the community. He is a former State FFA (Future Farmers of America) Vice President and continues to be active in the FFA through his sponsorship of the State FFA Creed Contest, leadership school scholarships, and other awards sponsorships. Currently, he serves as President of the National FFA Alumni Association and as State Vice President of the North Carolina FFA Alumni Council. Ronnie has been a life member of the FFA Alumni since the 1980s.

For years, Ronnie has been an advocate of improving our children's lives. He has been an active volunteer and sponsor of a number of children's and youth programs in his community.

While I am an attorney now, I have been involved in agriculture and agriculture education my entire life.

And like the FFA Creed states, "I believe in the future of agriculture with a faith born not of words but of deeds."

I do believe in North Carolina's ability to move back to being the leader in agriculture in both the U.S. and in the world. By joining together our research and education facilities with the natural resources of our State and our people, we can lower energy costs, raise agriculture revenues and provide the highly skilled and educated work force needed to fill the 300 plus agriculture related careers which range from bio-technology, to research specialists, to horticulturalists, to plant and animal production. And we need an Agriculture Commissioner that understands and can work not only with farmers, but with educators, exporters and lawmakers to put North Carolina back at the forefront of the world in agriculture.

I will address issues such as food safety, locally grown and sustainable agriculture, boosting the North Carolina economy through strengthening agricultural sales and marketing, high paying careers in agriculture, and bio-fuels and sustainable, renewable energy sources to make us energy independent.