They told him that while the situation wasn't bad for them, it was disastrous in the Midwest and farm belts. Nelson talked to farmers and ranchers in Texas. But I didn't know that it was any worse than usual." "I worked on farms all my life, and I knew they didn't make any money. In David Crosby and David Bender's new book, "Stand and Be Counted: Making Music, Making History," Nelson reminisces about being raised in farm country around Abbott, Tex. In July of 1985, watching Live Aid at his home in Austin, Nelson heard Bob Dylan say, "Wouldn't it be great if some of this money we're sending to the rest of the world could stay to help the family farmer?" Nelson wasn't aware there was a problem. "If there hadn't been a Live Aid, there wouldn't have been a Farm Aid," he says. Ironically, the original notion of doing Farm Aid came to Nelson while he was watching television. "If the politicians realize just how strong they could be, they would go in there and do something." "I really think the farmers have some power," Nelson says, pointing to 10 million to 20 million voters in farm country. We need politicians for that reason, to pass a farm bill." This being an election year, we thought we should write everyone a letter and invite them. And there really wasn't that much interest in helping the farmer anyway in the last 15 years. "First of all, it was a music event and we didn't want people to have to sit there and listen to political speeches all through the music.
"Intentionally over the years, we haven't invited a lot of politicians to Farm Aid," Nelson says. That's still on the agenda, and Farm Aid organizers have invited every presidential candidate and several Congress members to this year's event. "I didn't know that there was a big conspiracy out there to take farms away from the little guys and give them to the big corporations."Īgribusiness is the enemy here, and one focus at last year's concert involved efforts to replace the 1996 Freedom to Farm Act, which Farm Aid holds to favor corporate farming. "I was in for a rude awakening," Nelson adds. "I'd been brought up to believe the farmer was the backbone of the country and I heard that he was in trouble and I figured that once America heard he was in trouble, we would run to help him. "I started out thinking we'd do just one concert in Champaign, Ill., 15 years ago and that would really be the end of it," Nelson says. Nelson is surprised only that he's still having to fan the flames of public consciousness in the new millennium. Founded to raise funds and give a voice to family farmers, Farm Aid has given $14.5 million to 100 farm organizations, churches and service agencies in 44 states, while also championing notions of safe food supplies and a healthy environment. All three will perform at Nissan along with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young Barenaked Ladies Alan Jackson Travis Tritt Arlo Guthrie and a half-dozen other acts.įifteen years down the line, Nelson evinces no signs of compassion fatigue, though Farm Aid has become the granddaddy of cause concerts.
"Actually being that close to the people we're trying to get in touch with, well, it's kind of hard to ignore us when we're across the street," says Nelson, who co-founded Farm Aid in 1985 with Neil Young and John Mellencamp. On Sunday, Farm Aid returns to Nissan Pavilion for the second straight year, and Willie Nelson hopes its message of continuing concern for the plight of the American family farmer travels swiftly up Route 66 to Capitol Hill.
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