It is a bit of a cold spring.  In my day job as a Chatham Kent farmer I have many tasks that have to be completed before I get out into the field.  So I got a call last week to attend the meeting with Michael Ignatieff.  I thought of a whole bunch of things I could do instead.  However, when the call comes from the farm lobby I always heed that call.  There is a certain commonsense in appreciating the people who read you every week for the last 23 years.

I’m not sure but I think most readers of this column are not farmers or even farm people or agribusiness professionals.  It is always been my hope writing this column that I might branch out into a different genre.  Whether that will happen or not I dunno.  However what happened last Monday at Roesch Meats and More east of Chatham was a quintessential example of how strong the farm lobby is in Canada.

I suppose if some farmers are reading this they might be recoiling in horror by now.  For instance if you ask any farm people about the farm lobby they will say how inherently weak it is.  However I cannot think of another nonunionized group that can come together quickly to lobby a federal political leader as well as the group that came together last Monday.  Simply put farm groups are focused and tireless with regard to pushing their issues.  I’m sure they get very tired of it from time to time but invariably generation after generation comes along who keep doing it.  Political leaders know that farmers don’t represent a large part of the population, however they are activists, they all vote and they are very willing to move mountains to get things done.

I am very impressed with Michael Ignatieff.  I’m impressed with him because he seems to have a real grasp of who he is.  I suppose that might be because he is such an accomplished author and professor coming from Harvard and his time in Great Britain.  I mean how many people would have a celebrity president like Barack Obama show up in Ottawa and have him exclaim that he enjoyed reading Michael Ignatieff’s books.  The man is confident, he exudes stability and he seems to be very measured with regard to how he is taking on the Conservatives.

However it is a long time until the next election, we think.  Who knows!  We might be in an election by the end of June.  From what I am picking up from the liberals they seem very happy with their leader and that should serve them well come election time.  However it was pretty clear at the meeting with Ignatieff that he knows what he needs.  Simply put, he needs to win rural seats in order to capture government again.  It’s pretty obvious somebody has learned math in the Liberal party.  The way it is now having been shut out in rural Canada there is no way that they can continue to win urban voters but completely ignore rural Canada.  Under our present regional political arrangement they must get back into rural Canada to get anywhere.

I was struck at the meeting by people who characterize themselves as Liberals but openly told me that liberals did not appeal to rural Canada and that needed to change.  Michael Ignatieff acknowledged that and he characterized it in one line that to me was extremely significant in terms of him “getting it “.  This is what he said.  With farmers gathered around him listening to every word he said “the CAIS program hangs around liberals next like a drag chain. ”

Surely some of you have no idea what the CAIS program is.  Let me put it this way.  You might remember three years ago your loyal scribe being asked to stand up and speak at several farm rallies across Canada.  I did that because farmers were being impacted by very low prices and costs were getting out of control and the stabilization policy we had at the time did not work.  That policy was called CAIS, which stood for Canadian Agricultural Income Stabilization Program.  The Liberal party at the time didn’t care because they didn’t have to.  However in the 2004 election followed by the 2006 election, they were effectively wiped clean of seats from rural Canada.  It is only now that they are getting it.  It was all because of a policy called CAIS and an arrogance to ignore rural activism.

Of course nothing has really changed.  I do find Ignatieff impressive and his meeting last week with Chatham Kent farmers will help them.  However will it help him get over the hump and once he’s there will he remember his responsibility to rural Canada?  I dunno.  However I will tell you this, he is obviously good competition for the Conservatives.  They are taking rural Canada for granted and they are doing that at their peril.  Maybe next time the whole rural countryside will be up for grabs.  Maybe Ignatieff will bring those Liberals all the way back.  Only time will tell if they have finally learned their rural lessons.