The Kamenz family of Spencerville, Ont., can look out their farmhouse
window on a field of soybeans and a field of corn. A week ago today,
the corn was about six inches tall and looking perky.
Recent rains left a few puddles in low spots, in which an azure,
cloudless sky was reflected. Holsteins grazed in a pasture about 200
yards off the front step, raising their heads occasionally to gnash a
particularly luscious wad of greenery whilst placidly observing the
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landscape.
Into this pastoral scene came the Canadian prime minister, a bevy of
Liberal MPs, a bunch of assorted politicos, a bastion of protection
men, a busload of media and a brotherhood of neighbours and friends.
Most of them parked in the soybean field, trampling about an acre of
crop, by my estimate. Isn’t that just typical?
But Geri Kamenz was philosophical about those beans.
“They’re not worth anything, so they can park wherever they want,” he
said.
Which I thought was a not only a pretty typical farmer response, but
absolutely indicative of the reason for the day’s announcement.
Less typical, of course, is having a 68-year-old head of state crawling
in and out of your Case IH 4994 tractor and announcing a $5.2 billion
farm package while standing in front of your grain bin partially full
of corn. You just can’t beat that kind of product placement.
Jean Chrétien topped it off by wearing an Ontario Federation of
Agriculture cap. Kamenz, an executive member of the OFA, likely
supplied the headgear, but the logo and its supposed geographic
favouritism were duly and caustically noted later by western-based farm
groups.
“I have farmers in my riding,” noted Chrétien at one point in the
proceedings.
“I farmed for 25 years,” said agriculture minister Lyle Vanclief at
another point.
“Today is about nation building,” pronounced rural development minister
Andy Mitchell at a third point.
After all who were scrummable had been scrummed, the cavalcade spun its
collective wheels out of the soybeans, fired up cell phones and went
back to Ottawa.
You’ll find the important details of the proceedings elsewhere in this
issue, but an unanswered question is this: Kamenz has a commercial hog
operation, yet there was absolutely no olfactory clue of its existence.
This is either an agricultural feat worth further investigation or an
amazing tribute to the prime minister’s political fixers. But I suppose
they get lots of practice.
