Leadership seems to be a quality that's lacking in the world today. At least when you look at the so-called leaders people elect.Most of those turn out not to be leaders, but to be reactors. Whether it's to the latest poll or the latest disaster, most of the elected officials in the world don't really have a vision of where they want to go or how to get there.Where that cynical model tends to break down, is at the local level. Our municipal leaders, whether they be mayors, reeves, or councillors all know where people want to go. After all, they hear it every day on the street, in the coffee shop, the grocery store, and on the playing fields of their communities.These local leaders also know that their every move is scrutinized, at least when they do something that rubs someone the wrong way. That has an immediate effect, as most people aren't shy about letting their neighbours know about how the local government has screwed up.This time however, the municipal leaders are taking the point in getting federal and provincial attention, along with the media, to the flooding in the province that has created a disaster for farmers.RMs and municipal governments are declaring agricultural disaster areas and applying for Provincial Disaster Assistance Program funding, all in a bid to bring some kind of relief to their residents. Whether it's all the fields that aren't being seeded, or were seeded and then flooded, or the roads that are no longer passable, even with four-wheel drive, these leaders know it affects all of their residents. And they know the financial impact could do what the world-wide recession hasn't yet managed to do - send Saskatchewan into a deep recession or depression.All the progress the province has made in the last year - the increased population, rising wages, and more businesses setting up shop - could all be lost if the agricultural community doesn't get some help.The provincial government says that agriculture doesn't rule the province any more, and maybe it doesn't in the cities. But, in rural areas, agriculture is still king and when the farmers stop spending, no one is getting any money.As one young farmer put it last week, any money they do get from the government will be ploughed right back into the local economy, whether it's through putting tires on a vehicle, getting a subscription to the local paper, or buying groceries.A billion dollars for the agricultural community in the three Prairie provinces wouldn't be wasted, as farmers won't be putting that money in the bank. Instead they'll be paying their bills and supporting their local businesses.All that means everyone needs to get on board to make sure government hears that this is a disaster, even if no houses are destroyed and no one is dying.
