Q: Please tell me a little bit about yourself.
A: I’m a 7th generation South Georgia farmer, ABAC & UGA College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences graduate, a former State Senator representing South Central & Southeast Georgia, and Georgia’s 17th Commissioner of Agriculture.
When I’m not working in my official capacity or on the family farm back home in Ocilla, you can probably find me in a deer stand, in the cockpit (I’m an avid pilot), or if it’s Sunday – at Satilla Baptist Church where I still play in the band during Sunday service.
Q: I'd love to hear more about your journey in agriculture! How did you get started, and what aspect are you involved in within the agricultural industry? How did you decide on your career path, and what training or education was required?
A: The only requirement included in the Georgia State Code is that the Agriculture Commissioner must be a “practical farmer.” Ultimately, it’s the people of Georgia who decide which candidate is the most qualified for the office.
Growing up on the family farm in rural Georgia inspired my passion for agriculture, and I knew at an early age that I wanted to be involved in this industry. I still remember playing with toy tractors on the dirt road outside my parents’ house, hoping that one day I would graduate to the real thing. My childhood was enriched by the opportunities I was afforded through 4-H and FFA and that only furthered my passion for agriculture.
After high school, I went on to earn a degree in Agriculture from ABAC and then to the University of Georgia College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences where I earned a degree in agricultural engineering. While I was still at UGA, I jumped at the opportunity to serve as Ranking Member on the Senate Agriculture Committee Saxby Chambliss in Washington, DC. That experience helped me discover a new passion – public service.
Just a few years after graduating, I got a call that would change my life. After a lot of back and forth with my friend and mentor, former State Rep. Jay Roberts, I decided to run for the State Senate at the age of 25 and jumped in with both feet. We won that race and then 4 more after that.
When former Commissioner Gary Black announced his retirement, I saw the opportunity to take my passion for agriculture and public service to the next level. I jumped into the Agriculture Commissioner’s race with both feet, and we won that race too.
It is the honor of my lifetime to serve this industry and the people of Georgia as our state’s 17th Commissioner of Agriculture, and I am humbled to be in a position to serve the industry that has given me so much.
Q: Who is someone who has been a mentor or had an influence on your life?
A: I’ve been blessed to have several role-models and mentors in my life and the advice, life-lessons, and encouragement I’ve received from them has been invaluable.
DW Harper - My dad has been my role model since I was a little boy, and helped instill in me the farm values that are the foundation of Georgia’s agriculture community – hard work, integrity, resilience, faith, and family. He has been there for me at every step of the way – as a father, a friend, and a mentor, and always pushed me to take full advantage of the opportunities I’ve been presented with.
Papa Roscoe – My grandad. Papa Roscoe didn’t have more than a third-grade education, but he could figure with the best of ‘em and was widely regarded as one of the smartest businessmen in town. As a young boy, I remember watching Papa Roscoe sign his name with an X on a contract. Well, I knew even at that young age “Papa Roscoe” was not spelled “X.” Eventually, I mustered the courage to ask him about it, and realized that he could neither read nor write. He told me to never let obstacles, no matter the size, get in the way of achieving your goals, and that’s a life-lesson and a mentality that I still have today.
Chancellor Sonny Perdue - I’ve been blessed to call former Governor and current USG Chancellor, Sonny Perdue, a longtime friend and mentor. I’ve sought his advice and council many times during my time in the State Legislature and now as Agriculture Commissioner, and I’m incredibly thankful for his friendship.
Former State Representative Jay Roberts - I’ve known Jay almost as long as I can remember and grew up with him umpiring my little league games during the summer. Jay was our State Representative for most of my time in high school, college, and a few years after college. He knew that I was interested in public service – so much so that he would occasionally take me to Atlanta so I could meet with other legislators and see the legislative process playout firsthand. We had even discussed the possibility that I would run for his seat when he decided to retire. I vividly remember Jay calling me early on a February morning in 2012, saying “Tyler, Greg (our State Senator at the time) isn’t running for re-election – you need to run for his seat, and I need an answer by noon.” My first thought was that no one in their right mind was going to vote for a 25-year-old kid to represent them in the State Senator. After spending the morning calling everyone I could to ask for advice, including the others on this list, I decided to jump in with both feet. Today, Jay is still one of my best friends and even served on my transition team as I took the reins from former Commissioner Gary Black.
Q: To you, what is the importance of agriculture, and how do you see it progressing in the future?
A: Georgia is the #1 state in the country for business and agriculture is Georgia’s #1 industry – contributing over $70 billion annually to our state’s economy, employing nearly 400,000 Georgians, and sustaining rural communities and local economies across Georgia. To put it simply, agriculture’s success is our state’s success, and we cannot be the #1 state for business if our #1 industry is not successful. Agriculture is what puts the food on our tables, the clothes on our backs, and the shelter over our heads.
Beyond that – agriculture plays a vital role in our nation’s national security. If our farmers can’t provide the food, fiber, and shelter that the rest of us rely on we are less safe as a community, less safe as a state, and less safe as a nation. Our country is blessed to have the safest, most abundant, and most affordable food supply of any nation in the world – thanks to American farmers.
I think agriculture in Georgia and in America has a bright future, and as Commissioner, I’m working every day to help ensure that is the case. I want to be very clear though, the future of our industry is not guaranteed, and right now there is an ongoing campaign to paint agriculture and our farmers in a negative light. Now more than ever, we need people – farmers, business leaders, politicians, and everyday Americans - who care about this industry to work together to help us ensure that the future remains bright.
Q: How have you seen agriculture change through your years in the industry?
A: I think the biggest change I’ve seen is how dramatically innovation and new technology have moved this industry forward – making it more sustainable, efficient, and profitable for farmers. Because of technology, farmers today can harvest larger yields while using less inputs and conserving resources than ever before.
I think about our family farm in Ocilla - dirt that my family has tilled for 7 generations. My grandad used to plow the field with a mule and a plow. Today, I plow that same field with a tractor with GPS that drives itself, implements that switch on and off based on data they get from sensors in the field, and most importantly, a cab with air conditioning and a radio. That progress is amazing, and I can guarantee you my grandad would have appreciated that AC.
Q: Could you please share one common misconception that people tend to have in your field of the agricultural industry and what your take on it is?
A: I think the most common misconception I see about agriculture, particularly from folks in our larger cities, is that agriculture is nothing more than cows, plows, and sows. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Agriculture is a dynamic, high-tech industry that is constantly adapting and evolving to meet the challenges of today and prepare for the challenges of tomorrow.
The opportunities in the agriculture industry are incredibly wide ranging and we need people with a wide variety of educational and work experience to move this industry forward. We need computer scientists, chemists, biologists, biochemical engineers, soil specialists, agronomists, veterinarians, bankers and lenders, and that is just to name a few. The agriculture industry is full of opportunity, and we need to do a better job of educating people about that.
Q: What fields in agriculture do you see growing in the future, and what are their job outlooks?
A: I see technology and innovation as two of the major forces driving agriculture into the future, and that applies broadly to every aspect of the industry. This is most often referred to as “precision agriculture.” Whether we are talking about seed development and genetics, veterinary medicine, on-farm equipment, farm vehicles, data analysis, or any other aspect of agriculture – technology and innovation will play a large role in setting agriculture up for future success.
Q: Is there an area of agriculture that needs to be tackled and revived by the younger generations?
A: Telling the story of Agriculture. The story of Georgia agriculture is older than our state itself and it’s one that’s rich with tradition and history. This industry and the farmers in Georgia and across the country, who provide the food, fiber, and shelter for the rest of us have an important story to tell. Unfortunately, we really haven’t done a great job of telling it.
The reality is, more so than ever before, the largest portion of our population lives in cities and suburbs – far removed from the farm and our rural communities. This younger generation's social-media and tech savvy combined with the ability to reach people thousands of miles away through social media and the internet, gives your generation a unique opportunity to tell that story, and to tell it to a wide audience.
Q: How do you plan to contribute and ensure the sustainability of agriculture?
A: Top-down regulation is not the answer. Enforcing ever-stricter environmental standards on American farmers will not increase sustainability, but it will put American farmers out of business, drive up the cost of domestically produced goods, and make us reliant on other nations, whose farmers are not held to the same standards, for our food supply.
We need to continue to encourage investment and innovation in agricultural technology using free-market principles. This will encourage competition and give farmers access to new technology that is not only useful, but affordable and readily available.
Q: If you could give one piece of advice to younger generations or anyone in the agricultural community, what would it be?
A: Don’t be afraid to step outside of your comfort zone and take advantage of every opportunity you are blessed with because you never know what doors it could open.
Q: To wrap things up, I'd like to hear your thoughts on how to keep the agriculture industry thriving for years to come. How do we Keep Ag Alive?
A: President Dwight D. Eisenhower once said, “farming is mighty easy when you're 1,000 miles away and your plow is a pencil.” That statement is as true today as it was almost 70 years ago when he said it. In order for agriculture to be successful, we need policymakers at every level of government who understand the importance of American agriculture, and who will pursue policies that empower American farmers. In the private sector, we need to ensure continued research, development, and investment in new agricultural technology. New technology that will drive this industry forward – making it more sustainable and more profitable for American producers. At the end of the day, to paraphrase the FFA Creed – if we all do our part and exert influence in our communities, American agriculture will be successful and hold true to our ideals.