POTSDAM — Madrid dairy farmer David Fisher, president of the New York State Farm Bureau, had the rare opportunity to witness presidential history first hand. Fisher was U.S. Congresswoman Elise Stefanik’s guest at President Donald J. Trump’s 2020 State of the Union address Tuesday night.

“Every year at the state of the union, there is an opportunity for member’s of Congress to invite one guest,” Stefanik told North Country This Week Tuesday evening before Trump’s address. “I always try to focus on constituents who are leading in their communities, who are advocating on important issues. And, I wanted to highlight agriculture given the importance the newly signed USMCA (United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement).”

Stefanik, who represents the 21st Congressional District which includes St. Lawrence County, said she has known Fisher for several years, attended various agriculture-related functions with him, and has visited his seventh generation dairy farm in Madrid.

“It is great for me to highlight his effective advocacy but also shine a spotlight on the issues important to North Country farmers,” Stefanik said, speaking to NCTW by phone from Washington, D.C.

The congresswoman and the New York Farm Bureau president spoke directly to several initiatives now underway and things they would like to see implemented that could help farmers in St. Lawrence County.

Fisher said he heard President Trump speak in Austin, Texas a couple of weeks ago to the American Farm Bureau. “He talked a lot about trade, some of the successes and the things he is still working on. So he is probably going to talk about that some more. I think it's a positive,” Fisher said.

“We’re hoping to hear something about labor and immigration reform for farm workers. It’s probably one of the most important issues we have coming up,” said Fisher. “And continue working on WOTUS (2015 Waters of the United States) repeal and the new law. It is really crucial. Farmers need to know where they stand when they walk into their fields, that they don’t have to go to the Army Corps or somebody for a permitting process to do normal farming practices. . . So we will see what he has to say.”

The NY Farm Bureau’s stance on WOTUS is that it overreached, was unworkable and created bureaucratic weeds for farmers to cut through to do business. WOTUS was repealed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in October 2019 and took effect in December. However, the repeal currently faces a variety of legal challenges, including a lawsuit by the State of New York. The NY Farm Bureau’s statement on WOTUS can be read online at https://www.nyfb.org/news/press-releases/new-york-farm-bureau-statement-wotus-rule-repeal.

“Well, USMCA was a heavy lift,” Stefanik said. “I think Dave points out the importance of ag worker Visa reform. It's important not just for year round ag workers on dairy farms, but also for seasonal ag workers for apple orchards for example in my district.”

Stefanik called such reform a top issue and said the House did pass a bill on the reform with bipartisan support and now the bill’s supporters have to work to get it through the Senate.

“So I will continue to lead as an independent voice on that issue and really listen to the local farmers about what their priorities are.”

Stefanik said expanding rural broadband, an initiative promoted by President Trump during his State of the Union later that evening, was a top priority as well, “particularly to that ‘last mile’ where our ag farms are.”

“Technology is a part of agriculture today,” Stefanik said. The congresswoman said rural broadband was expanded by the Farm Bill, but more needs to be done.

To that end, Stefanik said she worked directly with the head of the Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to change the policy to put New York in line for phase one of the federal government’s rural broadband investment.