There is a federal election on.
In fact it’s been on far longer already than any election in the modern age of electronic social media should ever be.
It is now dragging on like a Saskatchewan winter in March, with people enjoying the experience of the rhetoric and hyperbole just as much as a three-day storm.
Even with the long election period agriculture issues have never exactly percolated to the top of the list being discussed.
That is not a particularly surprising situation since farm votes are just not that important these days.
There are fewer and fewer ridings where active farm voters sway the outcome, and nationally those rare ridings are not enough to influence who will form government, even in situations like this election where it appears a minority government is a likely outcome.
As the rural farm population has declined then so too, has the interest from all three parties in putting forth agriculture policy as a main thrust of its campaign.
That is not to say there are not issues for farmers.
And that certainly does not lessen the importance of such issues.
So what should farmers be asking candidates about?
Front and centre has to be grain handling.
In spite of low oil prices, rail companies have found a steady business in moving oil. The same rail companies have steady users from the potash sector. So while there are rules for moving grain, and farmers will tell you they pay more than reasonable fees, the system has at best faltered in recent years, if not outright broken a few times.
The result has been less than required grain movements, and farmers have suffered.
Then there is the situation of grain quality. There have been changes to the Canadian Grain Commission, and that may, or may not be the best thing for ensuring standards.
The deconstruction of the Canadian Wheat Board by the Conservatives is now basically complete, but voters may still want to ask questions about the process, if not the result, and the cost to farmers in lost assets.
The environment and how government will balance its protection while ensuring farmers can reasonably operate their business is another issue which is important today, and will be more so in the years ahead too.
So while farm issues might not be front and centre in leader debates, or political pamphlets, producers do need to ask questions and formulate at least part of their decision on who to support based on the answers.
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