OSLER, Sask – It’s a clear, sunny spring day on the Prairies – perfect for a choreographed visit to Joe and Linda Guenther’s dairy farm.
Busy candidate Ralph Goodale had left his home riding in southern Saskatchewan that morning, flew north for a stop in Meadow Lake, then went back to Saskatoon, jumped in a car and raced to the Guenther farm at Osler for a tour and a coffee break with local farmers.
Goodale arrives in the farm yard, pops out of the car and energetically shakes hands with the farmers who have gathered for his visit.
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Many would be exhausted by a day like this, but Goodale seems enthused, enjoying the fast-paced tour and the chance to show he’s in touch with producers.
Guenther leads Goodale into the dairy barn. The two men chat amiably, stroke the cows and walk along the stalls while a TV cameraman and a couple of reporters keep pace. They stop to talk about the operation.
A Western Producer reporter
positions himself to take a photo – and is shat upon by a well-fed Holstein.
Outside, Guenther and Goodale talk about the new silo being built because of last year’s plow wind damage. This allows more time for cameramen to get photos of Ralph and The Farmer.
Then it’s time for coffee. Around the table are eight local farmers, a Liberal candidate, a Liberal campaign strategist and Goodale.
It’s not a large room, but everyone has managed to squeeze around the table. The atmosphere is strained as the farmers and Goodale try to pretend there’s nothing unusual going on while TV cameras, a newspaper photographer and a couple of reporters circle the table, and another is perched at the entrance to the bathroom.
This is just a friendly chat, after all.
“The more we can get out of the value-added side of the equation for the future,” Goodale speechifies, “the better it will be for …”
CRASH!!!
The TV guy has caught the Guenthers’ silverware chest with his powerbelt and yanked it to the floor.
“Ooooohh,” says Goodale, momentarily knocked off his message track by this intrusion.
Linda Guenther picks up the chest and smiles to signify nothing’s wrong, even though one of the chest’s hinges has been torn off.
Goodale is quickly back in form. “World trade, overall in agriculture, is …” he continues.
When he pauses, a few minutes later, Saskatchewan campaign strategist Red Williams prompts him with questions about the dairy industry, which gets him going again.
A couple of the farmers ask him questions about federal dairy policies. A few tentative cups of coffee are drunk.
Goodale winds up the coffee talk and heads outside. He pauses to talk to reporters for a few minutes, then he’s off, back to the plane and off to Wynyard, where another tour and reception are planned.
