These four are true heroes. They have done so much to help so many, directly and indirectly, through their commitment to Farm Aid. The money raised from the concerts they help organize has raised millions and millions (over $20 Million) that has been used to help family farmers, and create the Farm Aid organization that has grown out from that first fund raising event. Year after year, for thirty years now, every fall, these four dedicated artists have dropped everything, interrupted lucrative tours, left families at home, and flown themselves and their band members in to perform at the annual concert. And they invite their friends and other musicians to do the same thing, for frees.
Millions of dollars have been raised to support family farmers, through Farm Aid. Net works, crisis help lines, crisis assistance, resources, financial support are just a few of the ways Farm Aid has helped the family farmer stay on the land. As well as keeping farmers on the land, networks created help support new farmers obtain land and education about farm. Their work affects all of us — we all benefit from healthy food grown by farmers who really are the caretakers of the land, and not hourly paid worker for a large corporation. So many farms are transitioning now, and farmers age and retire. When there is no family member to continue farming, the productive farmland is sold to a corporations, who goal is not to be a steward of the land, but to make millions from it, with their chemicals and genetically modified seeds.
Thank you Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews
Learn more about Farm Aid, and how you can support them here:
www.FarmAid.org.
