For whatever you want to say about the former Progressive Conservative government - and there is much to say that isn't very flattering - one thing is certain:
They were a government for the farmers.
This, of course, wasn't always the best thing when it meant helping themselves to Sedco loans for their own grain cleaning business or for their kids' elk farms. Nor did it always make for great public policy as we saw in the $25-an-acre interest-free loans of the 1980s that drove up provincial debt.
In fact, given that many in that 56-member caucus were farmers themselves, the conflicts of interest were actually rather extraordinary.
But when it came to supporting the heart of Saskatchewan and the heart of rural Saskatchewan, history reveals that there was no other government like it - before or since.
Now, this is not to say that Premier Brad Wall's Saskatchewan Party government isn't also highly supportive of the province's agriculture sector.
Like Grant Devine's government of 30 years ago, today's Sask. Party government has a disproportional number of rural MLAs - many of whom are farmers as well.
And certainly the leadership role Wall, Economy Minister Bill Boyd and Agriculture Minister Lyle Stewart all played in the grain movement debate last winter reflect their commitment to Saskatchewan's critical industry.
However, it is a very different time that we now live in. Farm size has grown at a faster pace in the last 30 years than it did in the previous 60, meaning the number of farms has dwindled even more rapidly.
Less farms means less farm votes, so the billion-dollar payment we saw in middle of Devine's 1986 re-election campaign would not happen even if Stephen Harper were more like Brian Mulroney.
Moreover, oil was $25 a barrel in the 1980s. That made it far less important to the economy or the provincial budget compared with today's $100-a-barrel oil.
So Wall's government has naturally become more about oil than farming or so a couple recent developments tell us.
One such development is the recent credit rating update from Moody's to Aaa from Aa1. In announcing the news, the New York bond rating agency notes "high surpluses from non-renewable resource revenue to reduce core government debt" as the big reason.
This is the complete opposite to the 1980s when the Devine government's credit rating was constantly being downgraded because of added debt caused by deficit budget. But while much of the spending in those years was simply irresponsible, a lot of it did go to a farming community suffering through drought and low grain and oilseed prices.
And for as much as a credit rating upgrade is great news, it also serves as a reminder of how much more tied our economy and government revenue stream is to oil rather than the success of the agriculture sector.
But we likely didn't need to be reminded of that close tie given the other big political development in Sask. Party ranks - the departure of up-and-coming Lloydminster MLA Tim McMillan to become President of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP).
This story has a couple of critical dimensions. That a potential successor for Wall's job would be moving on is clearly one. But a more critical concern is the potential conflict, given that McMillan was a cabinet minister and a former energy minister. His job now will be to lobby provincial government on behalf of the oil industry (although McMillan said he will not lobby in Saskatchewan for at least one year as per the province's yet-to-be-proclaimed Lobbyist Act).
Nevertheless, it underscores the close ties between this Sask. Party government and the oil industry that has now surpassed agriculture as the most critical component of our politics and economy.
While the Devine administration revolved around farming, the Wall administration clearly revolves around oil.
Murray Mandryk has been covering provincial politics for over 22 years.
