By Clint Thompson
Georgia’s Commissioner of Agriculture understands the obstacles Georgia’s farmers were challenged with during the 2023 season. But Tyler Harper also believes the resiliency of his state’s producers will carry them through to 2024.
Harper spoke about the future of agriculture, Georgia’s No. 1 industry, during Monday’s Georgia Farm Bureau meeting in Jekyll Island.
“2023 has been a challenging year for agriculture. At the end of the day, I think what’s always inspiring about those involved in the ag industry is our farmers and producers are resilient,” Harper said.
“We know that there are tough times, but at the same time, we’ve got to work through those tough times and help them get through that. That’s the reason we’ve been focused on working with Congress to help address some of those issues on the federal level; like federal disaster aid for those crop losses we’ve seen, whether it’s to peaches, pecans or anything else we might have seen losses in the hurricane (Idalia).
“We want to ensure that they know folks are there to have their backs and are working to address those issues, to get them the resources they need to go again.”
This Year’s Challenges
Georgia’s peach producers suffered extreme losses following a pair of freeze events in March. Pecan growers in the southeast part of the state were devastated by Hurricane Idalia on Aug. 30. It destroyed trees and cost multiple growers a substantial part of their livelihood. That follows another year where farmers were impacted by soaring input costs, unfair trade and low crop prices.
But growers remain hopeful that brighter days are ahead.
“We’re excited about what the future holds for agriculture. In 2024, we hope it’ll be a great year. We’re going to work alongside our farmers and producers to ensure that they’re successful and the things that they need, they’re able to have access to. I look forward in my role as commissioner to help make that happen,” Harper said.