On October 27, 1988, Governor McWherter announced at a rally at Decatur County Riverside High School that he would appoint Ivy to succeed A.C. Clark as Tennessee's Commissioner of Agriculture. He was the fifth person appointed to the cabinet by McWherter. During his tenure he served as secretary-treasurer for the Southern Association of State Departments of Agriculture. A section of Highway 641 was named in his honor in 1994. Ivy served as Commissioner of Agriculture until Governor Don Sundquist selected Dan Wheeler to succeed him in 1995.
