Congressman Sam Graves’ latest trip to St. Joseph felt more like a lunch among friends than a bid for votes.

There wasn’t a single campaign sign in the room as Mr. Graves talked with local farmers, agricultural leaders and government officials during a luncheon Wednesday at Triumph Foods.

Mr. Graves rarely mentioned the upcoming election or his challenger, Democratic candidate Kay Barnes. Instead, the congressman discussed his role as a member of the House Agriculture Committee in passing the 2008 Farm Bill. He said the committee’s bi-partisan nature helped it work quickly, though the legislation often bogged down when it was sent to the House floor.

“We don’t see things in the committee as Democrat/Republican. We see things as agriculture,” Mr. Graves said. “The unfortunate thing is very little of the Farm Bill is agriculture. That happens when they start making amendments on the floor.”

Funding for social programs like food stamps and free school lunches make up nearly 75 percent of the Farm Bill, Mr. Graves said. He did not dispute the importance of such programs. The problem, he said, is that lumping food stamp funds in with agricultural legislation gives some taxpayers a distorted view of the amount of money lawmakers set aside for farmers and ranchers.

“Some people look at the Farm Bill and think we handed farmers $300 billion,” Mr. Graves said. “They don’t see all the other places that money is going.”

An audience member’s question about oil prices led Mr. Graves to defend a charge his 6th District opponent had levied against him. Mr. Graves referenced claims from Ms. Barnes’ campaign that he had not addressed the impact oil speculators have on prices consumers pay at the pump. He said the problem isn’t as easy as telling speculators to stop. Basically, the government cannot stop oil speculators without changing the fundamental way a market economy operates.

“They keep hammering away with those 30 second spots,” Mr. Graves said. “I can talk to you guys because farmers understand commodities and futures markets. I can’t explain all that in 30 seconds.”

Clinton Thomas can be reached

at clintonthomas@npgco.com.