So how do you know he’s nice? I persisted. Do you know if he beats his wife or kicks the dog?

He was pleasant, she said, quite annoyed.

I hear the same sort of talk about the minister of agriculture, Helen Johns. She mixes very well at farm shows and meetings. She’s pleasant. But then that’s what being a politician is about. You have to be liked by the majority of the people to get elected.

In the last two months, Johns has done a turnabout on nutrient management regulations. That’s endearing. The implementation of regulations has been put off until well after the next election, after her government has come back from a deficit in popularity in the polls. That simply means that not enough people like Tories for them to be re-elected, and every good Tory has to hustle.

Johns is good at being nice. But value to the farm community does not come from apparent niceness but from actions. While she has listened to farmers on nutrient regulations, she has not found very much money for them in the provincial treasury. And she is being less than open. Her ministry had a cost analysis done, but she refuses to release the results.

While the Tory government has been critical of the federal government’s handling of safety nets, the made in Ontario plan the Tories used to talk about has disappeared. The provincial government has not acted. Nor does it intend to soon, because there is no money in this year’s budget.

Unlike in Manitoba, where the provincial government actively backs ethanol, Ontario gives lip support.

Johns’ counterpart, from Picton, Lyle Vanclief, is also affable. Like Johns he’s clever. The new NISA or safety net program is well thought out in terms of world trade. But he’s at least a billion dollars short on an annual basis. Somehow, he became surrounded by an air of unreality. Someone convinced him that a Canadian farmer could compete quite successfully against the Americans, with only half the assistance Americans received.

We hear some of the farmers in the area sat him down and talked reality to him. He’s now having a consultant check the figures.

So far, like Johns, he hasn’t delivered. So farmers should stop looking at personalities and start looking at facts. Evaluate both ministers on what they can deliver, on performance. Most other segments of society are judged that way.

In a tight election, the farm vote is golden. Use it to get programs that benefit the farm business. In the past, too many farm leaders have been reluctant to use their political muscle, preferring instead to support Ms or Mr. congeniality.