Two Democrats running to challenge Harper as agriculture commissioner

Two Democrats and an incumbent Republican are vying to be Georgia’s commissioner of agriculture in the May 19 primary election.

Georgia’s agriculture commissioner oversees a department with numerous responsibilities — enforcing food safety regulations, marketing Georgia crops, and verifying the quality and quantity of motor fuels sold at gas pumps.

Agriculture is Georgia’s largest industry, pumping more than $90 billion a year to the state’s economy, according the Georgia Farm Bureau.

Here are the candidates.

Democrats

Katherine Juhan-Arnold

Juhan-Arnold is the founder of Baby Katie’s Pharm & Kitchen, a Snellville nonprofit that connects farmers with markets and families with fresh, locally-grown food.

She says her priorities include supporting market access and addressing rising costs for Georgia farmers and ensuring families have access to fresh, locally grown food. She also supports economic development for rural Georgia, consumer protection at the gas pump and elsewhere, sustainable forestry, agricultural innovation and land protection.

Juhan-Arnold says Georgians “deserve a commissioner who understands the practical, everyday work of protecting families and supporting farmers — and who’s ready to serve with care and competence.”

Sedrick Rowe Jr.

Sedrick Rowe is a first-generation organic peanut farmer from Albany. He has testified in Congress about the challenges facing young farmers.

Rowe says he’s an advocate for a “smarter, stronger future for Georgia agriculture.” His priorities include streamlining farm aid delivery, modernizing the food system, helping farmers combat rising costs with technology and bioscience and connecting local farms directly to school lunchrooms.

“I didn’t inherit a farm. I earned one from the dirt up,” Rowe says. “Now, I’m running to streamline a resilient food system that works for every Georgian — from the family farm to the school cafeteria.”

Republicans

Tyler Harper

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Harper is a former state senator who was elected agriculture commissioner in 2022. He’s a seventh-generation farmer from Ocilla.

Harper says his priorities include new funding for farms and agribusiness, fighting burdensome regulations and eliminating “unfair trade deals” that put producers in other countries ahead of those in the United States. He also says he’ll ensure food meets the highest standards, support world-class agricultural education, ensure federal natural disaster aid is delivered quickly and expand rural broadband.

“As agriculture commissioner, I’ll fight every day to support our farmers, producers, consumers and advance our state’s number one industry,” Harper says.