MOULTRIE, Ga. (WALB) - Georgia leaders say the state’s farmers are continuing to adapt to challenges — from changing markets to recovering from last year’s Hurricane Helene.

Tuesday, Oct. 14 at the Sunbelt Ag Expo, Governor Brian Kemp and Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper shared how the state is working to support farmers and strengthen one of Georgia largest industries.

Harper served as keynote speaker for the Farmer of the Year Luncheon, addressing farmers and agriculture professions. He said states across the Southeast region are working to find ways to do more with less as rising costs and market changes impact rural and urban communities.

“As one of five commissioners across the country a part of [U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Leslie Rollins’] kitchen cabinet, I can promise you we converse daily on ways we can help American farmers be successful, ways that we can ensure you and your operations continue to be successful every single day. Whether its utilizing tariff money to assure you have the resources you need to ensure your farm is successful, we are working to ensure they include more than just soybeans but that they work to include commodities like cotton, peanuts, timber and others,” Harper said. “But there is light at the end of the tunnel, and I can tell you as I travel the Southeast with our Farm Family Contest, even though I’m just the pilot. I get to enjoy and see many of these family operations that are truly the heartbeat of our country and the heartbeat of American agriculture. I can tell you firsthand that there is optimism because of the operations that we have not only in our state but across the Southeast region of the United States.”

He adds that agriculture is becoming a high-tech, dynamic field, and Georgia’s farmers are well-positioned to lead innovation across the Southeast and beyond.

Governor Brian Kemp echoed Harper’s message, recognizing that recovery from Hurricane Helene continues to weigh on many families. He said the road ahead will require continued partnership and funding that has been approved at the state and federal levels.

“We know there is a lot of recovery still in the works and a lot of work that we need to do. A lot of work that Tyler [Harper] and his team is currently doing. And I want you to know that we have not forgotten you,” Kemp said. “We will not forget you. We will continue to work with you. It is a tough time, as Tyler said, in the agriculture and the forestry industry right now. The way prices are, storms and just, world markets and other things. So we will continue to stay focused on that.”

Kemp said his administration will continue working with the Department of Agriculture and federal partners to ensure Georgia’s farmers have the tools and support needed to keep the industry strong.

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