# Commissioner of Agriculture — 2026 Candidates — The GA Files > Where the 2026 candidates for Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture stand — bio, prior offices, top donors, positions on DEI, LGBTQ+, abortion, and data centers, plus any scandals. Sourced. *Source: https://thegafiles.com/candidates/agriculture-commissioner.html · The GA Files (thegafiles.com)* --- [← 2026 Candidates](https://thegafiles.com/candidates.html) # Commissioner of Agriculture D ### Katherine E. Juhan-Arnold Democratic nominee Founder of Baby Katie's Pharm & Kitchen, a Snellville nonprofit that links Georgia farmers to markets and connects families to fresh, locally grown food. A first-time statewide candidate, she won the June 16, 2026 Democratic runoff with about 62% over Sedrick Rowe Jr. and runs on making the Department of Agriculture more accountable and accessible to small producers. #### Previously held - Founder, Baby Katie's Pharm & Kitchen (farm-to-family nonprofit) - Community food-access advocate #### Top contributors No itemized contributions are on file for Juhan-Arnold in Georgia’s available disclosure data yet — Transparency USA has no entry for her campaign, consistent with a first-time candidate who only secured the nomination in the June 16, 2026 runoff. She has run on small-producer support rather than agribusiness money; this will be updated once a disclosure is filed. - $3,437.05 — Katherine for Commissioner (Atlanta, GA) - $250.00 — DeFranco, Lindsay (Milton, GA) - $15.00 — Blackstone, Hunter (Perkins, GA) - $5.00 — Jackson, Avery (Madison, GA) **$3,707** raised · **$557** cash on hand — as of **May 5, 2026** (GA Ethics latest filing). Source: [Katherine for Georgia — campaign site](https://katherineforgeorgia.com/) · [Transparency USA (GA filings)](https://www.transparencyusa.org/ga) #### Where they stand Disaster relief & Helene recovery Argues the Department's disaster response too often feels disconnected from the producers it's meant to help. In her first 90 days she'd launch a full review of how the agency handles disaster relief, licensing, inspections, and producer support so aid actually reaches struggling farmers faster. Source: [NGACAN — meet Katherine Juhan-Arnold](https://www.ngacan.org/post/meet-katherine-e-juhan-arnold-running-for-georgia-commissioner-of-agriculture) · [AJC — two Democrats challenge Harper](https://www.ajc.com/politics/2026/04/two-democrats-running-to-challenge-harper-as-agriculture-commissioner/) Farmer support & farm costs Centers her campaign on rising input costs and market access for Georgia farmers — her nonprofit's whole model is connecting growers to buyers — and says the office should be hands-on practical help for producers, not bureaucracy. Source: [AJC — two Democrats challenge Harper](https://www.ajc.com/politics/2026/04/two-democrats-running-to-challenge-harper-as-agriculture-commissioner/) · [WALB — two Democrats want to lead Georgia's No. 1 industry](https://www.walb.com/2026/04/23/two-democrats-want-lead-georgias-no-1-industry-into-future/) Local & fresh food access Built her career on getting fresh, locally grown food to families; making that access broader and more equitable across rural and underserved Georgia is a signature priority. Source: [NGACAN — meet Katherine Juhan-Arnold](https://www.ngacan.org/post/meet-katherine-e-juhan-arnold-running-for-georgia-commissioner-of-agriculture) · [Katherine for Georgia — campaign site](https://katherineforgeorgia.com/) Food safety & inspections Wants to modernize how the Department handles licensing and inspections — part of her 90-day accountability review — so the process is consistent and transparent for small businesses rather than confusing and slow. Source: [NGACAN — meet Katherine Juhan-Arnold](https://www.ngacan.org/post/meet-katherine-e-juhan-arnold-running-for-georgia-commissioner-of-agriculture) · [AJC — two Democrats challenge Harper](https://www.ajc.com/politics/2026/04/two-democrats-running-to-challenge-harper-as-agriculture-commissioner/) Consumer protection at the pump Highlights the office's everyday consumer-protection role — including fuel-pump and weights-and-measures accuracy at the gas pump — as a concrete way the commissioner protects ordinary Georgians' wallets. Source: [AJC — two Democrats challenge Harper](https://www.ajc.com/politics/2026/04/two-democrats-running-to-challenge-harper-as-agriculture-commissioner/) · [WALB — two Democrats want to lead Georgia's No. 1 industry](https://www.walb.com/2026/04/23/two-democrats-want-lead-georgias-no-1-industry-into-future/) Hemp & consumable cannabis Approaches hemp and other newer commodities through her broader lens of innovation and clear, fair regulation, emphasizing predictable rules and producer support over culture-war framing; she has said less than the incumbent on specific hemp restrictions. Source: [WALB — two Democrats want to lead Georgia's No. 1 industry](https://www.walb.com/2026/04/23/two-democrats-want-lead-georgias-no-1-industry-into-future/) · [NGACAN — meet Katherine Juhan-Arnold](https://www.ngacan.org/post/meet-katherine-e-juhan-arnold-running-for-georgia-commissioner-of-agriculture) Water & farmland conservation Backs protecting Georgia farmland and water resources and promoting sustainable forestry and land stewardship, tying conservation to keeping family farms viable for the next generation. Source: [AJC — two Democrats challenge Harper](https://www.ajc.com/politics/2026/04/two-democrats-running-to-challenge-harper-as-agriculture-commissioner/) · [Katherine for Georgia — campaign site](https://katherineforgeorgia.com/) Foreign farmland ownership Frames land protection around keeping farmland in the hands of Georgia families and producers; she has focused on affordability and access rather than the foreign-ownership ban the incumbent has made a centerpiece. Source: [AJC — two Democrats challenge Harper](https://www.ajc.com/politics/2026/04/two-democrats-running-to-challenge-harper-as-agriculture-commissioner/) · [Katherine for Georgia — campaign site](https://katherineforgeorgia.com/) #### Scandals None documented. [Katherine for Georgia — campaign site](https://katherineforgeorgia.com/) · [Ballotpedia — 2026 race](https://ballotpedia.org/Georgia_Agriculture_Commissioner_election,_2026) R ### Tyler Harper Republican incumbent Georgia's 17th Agriculture Commissioner, sworn in January 2023. A seventh-generation farmer from Ocilla and a former state senator (2013–2022), he oversees Georgia's roughly $90 billion No. 1 industry. He ran unopposed for renomination and sits on the America First Policy Institute's agriculture council. #### Previously held - Commissioner of Agriculture (2023–present) - Georgia State Senate, District 7 (2013–2022) - Seventh-generation farmer & small-business owner #### Top contributors A classic agribusiness-and-commodity donor base — his top givers include Georgia AgPAC, farming operations like Heagan Farms, R.W. Griffin Agribusiness, and the Langdale timber/forestry family, alongside a slate of $8,400 max-out donors (and developer Jeff Sinyard, who also tops Labor incumbent Rivera Holmes’s list). The money mirrors the industry he regulates and promotes. Filed with the Georgia Ethics Commission. - $21,600.00 — Goggans, Chase (Temple, GA) - $9,000.00 — Heagan Farms (Manor, GA) - $8,400.00 — Three Pines Leasing LLC (Ocilla, GA) - $8,400.00 — Harper, D W (Ocilla, GA) - $8,400.00 — Harper, Elecia (Ocilla, GA) - $8,400.00 — Bad Ash Motors LLC (Ocilla, GA) - $8,400.00 — Sinyard, Jeff Bodine (Albany, GA) **$554,761** raised · **$421,192** cash on hand — as of **May 18, 2026** (GA Ethics latest filing). Source: [GDA — Commissioner Tyler Harper](https://agr.georgia.gov/Commissioner-Tyler-Harper) · [Transparency USA (GA filings)](https://www.transparencyusa.org/ga) #### Where they stand Disaster relief & Helene recovery Makes Hurricane Helene recovery a signature accomplishment — he pressed Congress for aid and stood up the Georgia Hurricane Helene Block Grant, a roughly $531 million relief program covering timber, poultry, cattle, pecans, blueberries and more, with applications opening in March 2026. Source: [Action News Jax — $531M Helene relief program](https://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/local/georgia-agriculture-commissioner-announces-531m-hurricane-helene-relief-program/BBD76VLGJJD5LDVXDP6SXP6DC4/) · [GDA — Commissioner Tyler Harper](https://agr.georgia.gov/Commissioner-Tyler-Harper) Farmer support & farm costs Runs on his identity as a working farmer and former legislator, touting wins for producers and casting himself as a fighter for Georgia agriculture in Washington and at the Capitol. Source: [Statesboro Herald — Harper on farmer & senator experience](https://www.statesboroherald.com/local/tyler-harper-campaigns-ag-commissioner-experience-farmer-and-state-senator/) · [Tyler Harper — campaign bio](https://tylerharperga.com/about/) Local & fresh food access Promotes Georgia-grown products and farm-to-market programs as economic development, framing local food largely through growing the state's agriculture economy rather than as a food-access equity agenda. Source: [GDA — Commissioner Tyler Harper](https://agr.georgia.gov/Commissioner-Tyler-Harper) · [Tyler Harper — campaign bio](https://tylerharperga.com/about/) Food safety & inspections Restored the Department of Agriculture's status as a certified law-enforcement agency and emphasizes inspection and consumer-protection enforcement as core to the office's mission. Source: [GDA — Commissioner Tyler Harper](https://agr.georgia.gov/Commissioner-Tyler-Harper) · [Wikipedia — Tyler Harper](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyler_Harper) Consumer protection at the pump Leans on the Department's weights-and-measures and fuel-quality enforcement — gas-pump accuracy, scales, and product labeling — as a routine consumer-protection function he highlights. Source: [GDA — Commissioner Tyler Harper](https://agr.georgia.gov/Commissioner-Tyler-Harper) · [Wikipedia — Tyler Harper](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyler_Harper) Hemp & consumable cannabis A primary sponsor of Georgia's 2019 Hemp Farming Act as a senator, he now backs “commonsense” guardrails on consumable hemp — banning sales to anyone under 21, requiring lab testing, and mandating accurate labeling to reflect contents. Source: [GDA — Harper statement on consumable hemp legislation](https://agr.georgia.gov/pr/commissioner-tyler-harper-issues-statement-support-consumable-hemp-product-legislation) · [Wikipedia — Tyler Harper](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyler_Harper) Water & farmland conservation Established the Georgia Farmland Conservation Fund to help keep working farms intact and worked on water rights and private-property rights as a legislator — pitching conservation as protecting agriculture's land and water base. Source: [GDA — Commissioner Tyler Harper](https://agr.georgia.gov/Commissioner-Tyler-Harper) · [Wikipedia — Tyler Harper](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyler_Harper) Foreign farmland ownership Has made it a centerpiece to bar “adversarial foreign nations” like China from buying Georgia farmland, casting it as protecting the food supply and national security — and pairing it with his America First agriculture-council role. Source: [GDA — Commissioner Tyler Harper](https://agr.georgia.gov/Commissioner-Tyler-Harper) · [GDA — Harper named to AFPI America First Ag council](https://agr.ga.gov/pr/icymi-georgia-agriculture-commissioner-tyler-harper-named-afpis-america-first-agriculture) #### PPP loan Forgiven **$20,832** — Tyler Harper — beef-cattle farm (sole proprietorship) (Ocilla, GA), February 2021. The Agriculture Commissioner's beef-cattle operation took a PPP loan as a sole proprietorship; SBA records show it was forgiven in September 2021. Sources - [FederalPay — SBA PPP data](https://www.federalpay.org/paycheck-protection-program/dw-harper-ocilla-ga) - [ProPublica — Tracking PPP](https://projects.propublica.org/coronavirus/bailouts/) #### Scandals None documented. [GDA — Commissioner Tyler Harper](https://agr.georgia.gov/Commissioner-Tyler-Harper) · [Wikipedia — Tyler Harper](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyler_Harper) [⬇ Share image](https://thegafiles.com/share/candidates/agriculture-commissioner.png) [⬇ Download for offline](https://thegafiles.com/candidates/agriculture-commissioner.offline.html) Every entry is drawn from published reporting, official records, or the candidate's own statements, with sources on each item. Policy summaries are condensed from that reporting and reflect the candidate's stated positions; where a matter is an allegation or unresolved, that is noted, and inclusion is not a finding of guilt. Contributor figures are early/partial where the official itemized filings (Georgia Ethics Commission) are still being compiled. Corrections welcome via the contact link in the footer. Last updated 2026-06-17.