The U.S. Senator from the big City of Chicago brought his presidential campaign to rural Indiana voters on Thursday.

Barack Obama held a town hall meeting at the St. Joseph County Fairgrounds south of South Bend. The scene could perhaps best be described as “Barack-a-billy,” with bunting hanging in the Dairy Barn, straw bales lining the floor, and an old tractor in the background.

The invitation only event was attended by about 100 people with strong ties to farming.

“I got invited, I was in a coffee shop, The Java Trail in Plymouth,” said Peter Banfich. “The owner said we’re going to see Barack Obama today, would you like to come? I said sure.” Banfich is an insurance agent who caters mainly to farmers.

Senator Obama told the crowd, “we’re going to protect the family farm; we’re going to make sure that’s our priority.”

Obama said it was his belief that rural America represents what is best about America: “Hard work, responsibility, individual initiative, a sense of community, and a sense of family.”

The Presidential contender said the fact that rural America is having such a difficult time indicates that the country had lost its focus on values.

“When we’ve got billions of dollars of government subsidies going to big agri-business for people who live in Manhattan and have never seen a farm…at the same time as family farmers are struggling,” Obama contended that something was wrong.

Among those in the audience was Ruby Bryant, a farmer from Goshen. “To tell the truth, I’m a registered Republican,” she said.

Bryant also added “I don’t really hear too much about the farming end of it from what I heard from Hillary or McCain—either one.”