James November-December 2024 web - Flipbook - Page 23
HARPER VISITING HEATH FARMS IN TREUTLEN COUNTY.
meet directly with impacted farmers
and producers and hear their stories.
Aside from the devastating damage
they had sustained, another common
theme was unmistakable in so many
of their stories— the resilience of the
Georgia Farmer.
I’ve heard so many stories of farmers, many whose operations sustained
catastrophic damage, who almost immediately got in their trucks, tractors,
skid steers, UTV’s, you name it, and
families and all Georgians as Agriculture Commissioner.
Agriculture is our state’s number
one industry— contributing over $83
billion to our state’s economy every
year and employing more than 323,000
Georgians. It is the driving force
behind hundreds of local economies
across our state, and it is the bridge
that connects urban and rural Georgia.
But for tens of thousands of Georgia
farmers, it is more than just a job or a
hobby. It is our way of life.
The road to recovery from this
storm will be long, but I want every
Georgia farmer, producer and rancher
to know that my team at the Georgia
Department of Agriculture and I are
with them every step of the way. We
are going to use every tool in the toolbox to get our farmers the relief they
need, and we will not stop working
until we’ve done exactly that.
started cutting and clearing roadways
to get to their friends and neighbors
or deliver supplies simply because
they knew it was the right thing to
do. Stories that show the unbreakable
bond and incredible selflessness in
the face of tragedy that are foundational to our agricultural community
in Georgia. It is nothing short of remarkable, and it is why I am humbled
every day that I wake up and have the Tyler Harper, an Irwin County native and farmer,
is a former state senator who was elected Georgia’s
privilege of serving our state’s farm
Agriculture Commissioner in 2022.
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