Republican candidate Gary Black made campaign stops through South Georgia Tuesday, talking about his campaign for Agriculture Commissioner. The post is up for grabs with incumbent Tommy Irvin opting out after more than 40 years in the position.

With issues such as the recent salmonella scares in eggs this summer and in peanuts produced right here in Georgia in 2009, food safety is the number one issue in Black’s campaign.

“When the systems are compromised and consumers lose confidence, farmers lose markets,” Black said. “We need to restore stability.”

Black has a strategic plan that he wants to implement if elected which includes continuing education and training requirements for food-safety inspectors in Georgia, and he wants to encourage the department’s employees to make the Ag Commission a career rather than use it as a training ground for jobs in the private sector.

A farmer himself, specializing in providing home-grown beef for local consumers in Commerce, Ga., Black said he has been involved in the agriculture industry his entire 30-year career. He began his career with the Georgia Farm Bureau in 1980, and was elected to serve as president of the Georgia Agribusiness Council in 1989, a position he held for 21 years.

It’s his ties to the ag community that make Black want to be the next Agriculture Commissioner, hoping to take the department to the next level of professionalism and accountability, along with making plans for the future.

Black also wants to tackle some controversial issues, such as nutrition in schools and childhood obesity. He says if he can encourage school systems to utilize locally produced fruits and vegetables, such as the systems in South Georgia, it will be less expensive and more nutritious for children.

“Agriculture touches every Georgian every day. I’ve been in agriculture all my career and have a proven record.”

Black added that there are critical issues in agriculture that need to be addressed and somebody’s got to step up and take them on.