IRWIN COUNTY, Ga. — Tyler Harper has about seven months under his belt as Georgia's new agriculture Commissioner.
He proceeded former commissioner Gary Black, who gave up his position to run for U.S. Senate.
Harper says right now he and his team are working on the Federal Farm Bill to find money to help peach farmers devastated by this year's late freeze.
For this South Georgia native, the peach loss and other farming problems hit close to home.
“I have to explain where Ocilla is to a lot of people. Three hours south of Atlanta is how I say it, “Harper joked.
It's actually a little more detailed than that.
Right outside Ocilla, down a dirt road, sits 15-hundred acres in Lax, Georgia.
The newest agriculture commissioner has a long history working the family land and standing on the shoulders of past generations.
“I'm the seventh generation to be involved in this industry. My family's been right here where we're sitting since 1820,” Harper recalled.
Precision farming is a buzz word in the farming community and what it means is innovation and putting money towards new technology to make farmers viable.
“The future is interesting now. We have drones that you can spray your crops with. We have technology that can specifically identify weeds in a field and only apply chemical where that weed is in the field,” he explained.
Agriculture is Georgia's oldest and largest industry.
And although the 37-year-old listens to a lot of farmers, he says the decisions made in Atlanta play a role every time you sit down to dinner.
“The department of Agriculture impacts every Georgian every day. The role we have is ensuring that consumers are protected; that they have a safe and secure food supply,” Harper said.
In Atlanta, he gets called Commissioner Harper a lot.
But the fabric of his life is driving a tractor - and around South Georgia he's still the humble guy who used to play with John Deere toys in the field.
“Here at home it's just 'Tyler,' and I'm still Tyler and I'll always be Tyler," he said with a smile.