The 40th anniversary of Farm Aid empowers farmers and union members
On Sept. 20, Huntington Bank Stadium hosted musicians Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp for Farm Aid 40. Since 1985, Nelson, Young and Mellencamp have joined forces to organize an annual Farm Aid concert to support local family farms. This nonprofit has raised over $80 million since its founding to build a family farm-centered system of agriculture in America.
Other artists, including Bob Dylan, Dave Matthews, Billy Strings, Kenny Chesney, Trampled by Turtles and many others took the stage. The concession stand reflected Farm Aid’s support for local farmers by including Family farm identified, local and organic food stands.
Farm Aid 40 faced some uncertainty in the days leading up to this annual festival. On Sept. 8, a strike by Teamsters Local 320 began with over 1,400 custodial, food service and maintenance workers across the University of Minnesota. Farm Aid recognized the connection between these strikes and its own goal and released a statement in support of the strike.
“The farm and labor movements are intertwined. Time and again, farmers and workers have shown up for each other in solidarity. We are proud that the Teamsters support our festival each year! Our artists, production team and partners have made clear that they will not cross a picket line,” Farm Aid said in their statement.
However, on Friday, Sept. 12, a tentative agreement was reached between the U of M and the Teamsters, and it was announced that Farm Aid was still on. Farm Aid’s display of solidarity for the strikes was not a newfound place of support. Environmental and Climate Studies Professor Valentine Cadieux has spent time looking into how farming and urban workers have a long history of showing support for each other.
“The pressure to make food affordable often makes jobs in food really crappy jobs and so part of what was so important about [the Farmer Labor Movement] were these urban and rural solidarities and the farmers would be supporting urban workers’ strikes and the workers really supporting better conditions for farmers,” Cadieux said.
The festival acts not just as a musical event, but as an educational opportunity as well. During the music festival, they highlighted farmers through images behind the artists, including pictures of the Hamline MicroFarm. A “Homegrown Village” also had stands to showcase farming through art and hands-on activities. Cadieux worked with a public art team to highlight the history of the Farmer Labor Movement through a deck of cards highlighting important characters and several bronze objects related to the movement, accompanied by the film “Farmer Labor Party: A Minnesota Story.”
“It was so awesome to both have this history and education around economic justice and people describing why it was important and advocating for farmers and fair conditions for farmers, especially because part of what is happening with the current government is it says it is good for farmers but it is really cutting away a lot of the support for people to farm,” Cadieux said.
Hamline students received recognition at Farm Aid. Sophomore and intern for the MicroFarm, Sara Jime believes it is important for people to understand more about the journey of their food.
“It is really important to know who the people behind [your food] are and it is another way to build community. If you know where your food is coming from, you are less likely to waste it and more likely to appreciate it,” Jime said.
