Farming was one of the lead topics during a Chatham-Kent-Leamington federal candidates debate Thursday night.
The debate, which was hosted by BlackburnNews.com and Country 92.9 FM / 630 AM CFCO, used prerecorded questions from community members within the riding.
Conservative candidate and incumbent Dave Van Kesteren says his party intends to stick to its current plan in helping local farmers in a time of declining local commodities and higher imports.
"The plan will be as it has been... We will continue to open new markets," he says. "I look at how we've moved forward at the farm gate, and I would say the greatest reason for that is the increase in markets, and the lowering of taxes, and the abilities to let farmers do what they do best. And that is to earn a living in a country where we're unsurpassed when it comes to farmers."
Liberal candidate Katie Omstead says there are three main areas where the Liberals will work with farmers, which include investment in infrastructure, financial support, and maintaining the security of food production.
"We know that business risk management programs are best when they are designed for farmers by farmers," she says. "We will support supply management in trade deals and ensure it is a priority and that farmers get to have a say."
The NDP’s Tony Walsh trashed the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement saying it will have a negative impact on local farming.
"We're going to maintain the integrity of our supply managed egg, dairy and poultry sectors and rural incomes they support," says Walsh. "As far as the TPP is concerned, we feel this is a huge threat. So we either need to renegotiate it or not allow it to be ratified in government."
The Green Party’s Mark Vercouteren says his party intends to implement a cut in payroll taxes to help farmers.
"As we know, the price of food is dependent on the cost of labour," he says. "We're also going to help (farmers) to save their seeds for the next year and make sure that we actually have more processing centres in the area."
Other topics touched on during the hour-long debate were the cost of post-secondary education, algae blooms on Lake Erie and increasing jobs for trained registered nurses.