Farm Aid will mark its 40th anniversary with a star-studded concert in Minneapolis on Saturday, led by Willie Nelson and Neil Young, with Minnesota native Bob Dylan joining the lineup at the University of Minnesota's football stadium. John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews, Margo Price, Kenny Chesney, Wynonna Judd and Nathaniel Rateliff are also slated to perform as the fundraiser continues to spotlight family farmers and connect producers with help.
Organizers say the festival arrives at a moment of economic strain for U.S. agriculture, with farm profitability shrinking as crop prices dip and production costs rise. Trade tensions have intensified uncertainty, with China not purchasing this year’s U.S. soybeans and turning to rivals such as Brazil to meet demand. A labor dispute at the campus nearly derailed the event, but organizers said they would not cross picket lines of striking Teamsters and that a deal was reached between the university and workers after negotiations that included involvement from the governor’s office.
CNN will carry five hours of programming from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. CDT, featuring live performances by Nelson, Young, Mellencamp, Dylan, Matthews and Price. CNN will also stream the concert on CNN.com and on its apps without requiring a cable login. Sirius XM will carry the broadcast on satellite radio beginning at noon CDT. Beginning at 11:30 a.m. CDT, it will also stream on the nugs live music platform and YouTube channel, and at FarmAid.org and on Farm Aid's YouTube channel.
Nathaniel Rateliff, appearing in his ninth Farm Aid, said he keeps coming back because he feels a connection to farming and the land. “I grew up in rural Missouri, and grew up with agriculture around me, and we didn’t have much money as a family,” Rateliff recalled. “So we had a huge one-acre garden, and my mom canned a lot of stuff, and my dad and I would hunt squirrel and rabbit and deer and whatever else we could eat.”
Farm Aid’s co-executive director Jennifer Fahy said the founders never expected to solve every debt or problem for farmers in 40 years, but hoped to spur systemic solutions. “Farm Aid was kind of the first rallying point for farmers publicly,” Fahy recalled, noting the hotline—1-800-FARM-AID (1-800-327-6243)—as one of their first initiatives. Operators mostly come from agricultural backgrounds and can help with immediate needs before connecting farmers to broader resources such as financial and business counseling, legal advice, mental health support, or help navigating federal farm programs. While emergency grants aren’t the main focus—they’re about $500 per farmer and totaled roughly $50,000 last year—the money can help a family in financial straits buy groceries or keep heat on in a barn while longer-term solutions are pursued.
Farm Aid has raised more than $85 million over the years, making it one of the largest in a line of famed benefit concert series. It awarded grants totaling just over $1 million in 2023, largely to allied groups across the country, including the Missouri Rural Crisis Center that was launched with the help of a $10,000 grant. The organization also works with grassroots programs, such as the Land Stewardship Program in Minnesota, to organize rural communities, help maintain local control, and train new farmers.
Rateliff said he keeps returning to Farm Aid because not enough has changed in terms of farm consolidation and the hurdles faced by smaller producers. He added that music serves as a bridge across political divides, pointing to fans who supported candidates from different ends of the spectrum. “What music has the ability to do is bring people together — to create commonality in a shared human experience — so that we all can examine ourselves together and see how alike we are,” he said.