Meet Katherine E. Juhan-Arnold: Running for Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture

Katherine E. Juhan-Arnold is running for Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture. As North Georgia CAN evaluates candidates ahead of the May 19 primary, we asked Juhan-Arnold where she stands. She responded with the perspective of someone who has navigated the systems she is seeking to lead and has a clear-eyed view of where they are falling short.

Making the Department Work for the People It Serves

Juhan-Arnold's top priority centers on accountability and accessibility within the Department of Agriculture itself.

"Too many producers, small businesses, and communities are trying to navigate systems that feel disconnected, hard to use, and harder to trust," she said. "That has to change."

Her first 90 days would start with a full review. "I would launch a full review of how the Department handles licensing, inspections, disaster response, producer support, and market access," she said. "I want to know exactly where people are getting stuck, where communication is breaking down, and where the Department is creating more burden than help."

Her goal is not only to make the Department more efficient, but to make it more useful to the people who rely on it. That means clearer communication, stronger producer support, better access to markets, and systems that connect farmers, food businesses, and communities instead of leaving them to navigate disconnected processes on their own.

The Gap Between Doing the Work and Building Something Sustainable

When we asked Katherine E. Juhan-Arnold what problem is not getting enough attention, she pointed to a structural challenge she knows personally.

"Too many people are producing, building, and trying to serve their communities while navigating licensing, market access, technical assistance, and support systems that do not communicate with each other," she said. "That matters to me because I know what that feels like firsthand. I know what it means to have to innovate and navigate at the same time."

She is confident Georgia already has the tools to do better. The question is whether those tools are accessible to everyone who needs them.

"If we are serious about agriculture, then the path forward cannot only work for the most connected or best resourced," she said. "It has to work for the people who are actually building it on the ground."

Why This Matters for North Georgia

Agriculture is woven into the fabric of Cherokee, Pickens, Bartow, and surrounding counties. Small producers, farmers markets, and food businesses in our region are exactly the kind of operations Katherine E. Juhan-Arnold is describing. A Commissioner who understands what it takes to build something on the ground and who is committed to making state systems actually serve that work is someone worth paying attention to.

Learn more about her campaign at katherineforgeorgia.com.

NGA CAN will publish our endorsements for the May 19 primary by May 16. Stay tuned.