MADISON — On Feb. 4, more than 330 farmers and agriculturists gathered at the Monona Terrace in Madison for Ag Day at the Capitol. 

Ag Day at the Capitol is an annual event for Wisconsin farmers and agriculturists to learn more about state issues affecting agriculture and meet with their state legislators.

Attendees started the day by listening to issue briefings on wildlife damage claims, food labeling and a host of other bills including farmer commercial driver’s license exemptions and farmland preservation tax credit.

At 1 p.m., Gov. Tony Evers served as the event’s keynote speaker. The Governor shared his focus on water quality in the state and why he declared 2019 the year of clean drinking water. 

“Obviously it’s going to take more than one year to deal with (clean water),” said Gov. Evers. “I have the utmost faith in the farm community. They are the original stewards of the land, after Native Americans, and there is no reason we can’t work together to make clean water a priority.”

Gov. Evers also emphasized his three-pronged approach to help rural Wisconsin.

He asked farmers and agriculturists to stay engaged and be part of the solution.  

Following the Governor’s speech, the afternoon session was a legislative panel on water quality. The panel was moderated by Dennis Frame, co-founder of Discovery Farms, and was comprised of Senators Howard Marklein and Patrick Testin and Representatives Todd Novak, Travis Tranel, Tony Kurtz and Katrina Shankland.

The afternoon’s program wrapped up with attendees hearing about water-specific bills and then walked to the Capitol to meet with their legislators from their respective areas.