The man prairie farmers have cursed at protest rallies and town hall meetings for months met with a calm and peaceful group of producers during a campaign stop in Regina, Tuesday morning.

Prime Minister Jean Chretien had breakfast with six farmers at the Delta Regina where he was staying, including Francis farmer and accountant Cathy Nicholas, who had been pre-selected by Saskatchewan MP Ralph Goodale for the short meeting.

Around 40 more farmers gathered in the lobby of the hotel at 7:45 a.m. that morning to have a brief word with Chretien, but the Prime Minister and his security guards passed them by on the way to an event at the RCMP training academy.

When Chretien came back to the hotel later that morning, many of the farmers had left, but some were still waiting - including Weyburn farmers Darcy Sidloski and Dave Pulfer. Chretien shook hands with the farmers and hotel staff.

"We just wanted to make sure he knew things weren't rosy out here. I know he knows that, but I'm not sure he knows how to solve it," said Pulfer, who added Chretien was quite relaxed with the group once he realized they posed no threat to his safety.

"I just snuck in a question and asked if he could give us any hope of new money out there to address the situation we're in, and he said they're working on something down the line," said Sidloski.

Sidloski says the group in the lobby might not have made a big impact on Chretien, but he hoped the six farmers who spoke with him earlier in the day were able to.

Nicholas, who could not be reached by press time, told Sidloski that she and her husband had been having problems with their AIDA application, and had contacted Ralph Goodale's office about it. Over the course of their correspondence Goodale invited her to the meeting in Regina.

"She didn't know the Prime Minister was coming until she arrived," Sidloski said. "She seemed to think it was a very positive meeting."

The night before, a dozen farmers had gathered at the Regina Airport to meet Chretien when his flight came in, but were unsuccessful as a bus picked him up on the tarmac. Goodale spoke with them at length that evening.

Chretien will be back in the province later this month. Goodale told farmers he would be able to meet with them again at that time.

Despite the small victory Tuesday morning, Sidloski was disappointed with the turn-out at the hotel.

"I thought there would be a better turn-out, with the Prime Minister so close to us, and all the press there. I was a little disappointed (farmers) wouldn't have made more of an effort than that. I would have thought they'd see the Prime Minister as more of a priority," he said. "We needed to have a good showing with the whole country watching."

Around 50 farmers were still blocking a rail crossing and traffic along the junction of Highways 16 and 6 at Dafoe on Tuesday morning, but started to disband by/ noon.

The number had dwindled from the crowd of 200 that began the protest Monday by forming a blockade with trucks, equipment and people. The RCMP rerouted vehicle traffic, and CP Rail did not run any trains along their line.

Pulfer, a director with the Saskatchewan Rally Group, was one of the organizers of the protest at Dafoe, where his group was again calling for an $80 per acre payment.

"They've raised the issue again," said Pulfer of the protesters. "I think they've solidified the Sask. Rally Group as a credible group, because we went to the limit of the law and controlled ourselves.

"We thought we had to become more forceful because after the spring, we got a small payout and then never heard anything. People don't want to go to meetings anymore, they want action."

Pulfer says the fact that farmers were halting the passage of grain cars was insignificant.

"We had nothing to lose. What's a little more of a demurrage charge? They tried to make an issue of that, but it wasn't an issue," he said.

A similar protest occurred at North Portal on Monday, as around 25 farmers shut down traffic on both sides of the border for an hour before 12 p.m., and for an hour and a half later in the afternoon. They dispersed at 4:30 p.m.

Francis farmer Blaine Muhr was one of the protesters with their tractors, combines and trucks lined up across the highway.

"The majority of people understood what we were doing, but there were some who were mad," said Muhr of drivers' reactions. Truckers were especially frustrated, he said, yelling at farmers that they couldn't waste expensive fuel.

Muhr said the protesters responded by saying their input costs were going up too, and asked the truckers to join them.

"I think it's a good start, and everyone's opinion is we should be doing more," he said. As for farmers who disagree with the protests, "I always tell people we're open for opinions, but don't sit at home and put everyone else down who's trying to make a difference."

Muhr anticipates this won't be the end of civil disobedience for farmers, who were talking about shutting off resources from the west to the east, or trying to cut off food shipments coming into the province.