What My First Farm Aid Taught Me
Farm Aid is unlike any other conference. Part of that is because after three days of farm tours, educational sessions, and stories from farmers, everyone comes together for an iconic musical lineup featuring Willie Nelson, Neil Young, Dave Matthews, and more.
But there’s more in the air than just good music. Every year, Farm Aid brings farmers and advocates together from across the country to share ideas, learn from one another, and band together to fight for a better food system. Being surrounded by so many people working toward that same vision was awe-inspiring.
Advocacy work can be tiring. You dedicate your life to fighting for something better, and most days, it’s an uphill battle. You spend countless hours working for something you believe in wholeheartedly, but sometimes you look around and wonder if anyone actually cares.
We’re up against enormous roadblocks: a food system dominated by powerful corporations, farmers struggling to stay afloat, rural communities losing farms, and a system that too often puts profits ahead of people, animals, and the environment. Today’s farmers have fewer choices and less control over what they grow, how they farm, and how they make a living. Meanwhile, the environmental and social costs of industrial agriculture keep piling up. Some days, you can wonder whether the work is making a difference at all.
Why We Need Farm Aid
That is why Farm Aid still matters after 41 years. Because despite decades of action, our food system is still broken. And because the farmers and advocates fighting for something better need each other. We need places to come together, share what we’re learning, celebrate the progress we’ve made, and remind one another that we’re not in this fight alone.
That sense of solidarity is what struck me most about my first Farm Aid. For a few days, people from across the country came together with a shared belief that our food system can be different. And when it feels like we’re not getting anywhere, there's something powerful about being surrounded by people willing to keep trying.
Over the course of three days, I learned about the deep, purposeful work happening in our food system. We toured Creekmore’s Place, a specialty crop farm run by Sharon and Dion Mosley. Sharon’s commitment to feeding her community comes from her parents, who farmed the same land she works today. As they walked us through their farm, they spoke with deep passion about their responsibility to provide fresh, healthy food for the people around them.
“People may say, you’re just a small farm. Yes, but I provide food for the people who come and get that food.” –Sharon Creekmore Mosley
That simple statement captured so much of what makes farms like theirs important. Sharon and Dion aren’t just growing food. They’re caring for the land, educating their community, creating connections around food. Like most farmers, they face their share of challenges. But their commitment to feeding their community runs deep, and it’s clear purpose keeps them going, even on the hardest days.
Advocacy and Policy Work
On the second day of Farm Aid, we attended a panel discussion featuring local Virginia farmers and Virginia’s Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry, Katie Frazier. The panel discussed the importance of government support for farmers. Policies and limited funding remain two of the biggest obstacles, especially for new and first-generation farmers who often lack access to the land, capital, infrastructure, and resources needed to get started and build a successful operation.
State and federal governments must be part of the solution. That means investing in programs that make it easier for farmers to access land and financing, that support new and beginning farmers, strengthen local and regional food systems, and create markets where independent farmers can actually make a living. It also means ensuring that farm policy doesn’t continue to favor the largest and most powerful players in the food system at the expense of small and mid-sized farms.
The final day amplified this message beyond our small conference rooms. Transfarmation attended a press event featuring Farm Aid’s co-executive directors and Board of Directors, which includes Willie Nelson, Neil Young, and Dave Matthews. Alongside local farmers, they spoke to the press and a broader audience about the pressures farmers face, especially those brought on by the expansion of factory farms and data centers. Bringing these issues to the forefront is crucial to spreading the message that farmers need more than our appreciation. They need action and support.
The press event has already led to coverage in Rolling Stone and Billboard. After it wrapped, the concert officially started, with ticket sales supporting farmers across the country.
More Than A Celebration
Above all, the weekend celebrated farmers. It was a small thank you to the people who work tirelessly to put food on our tables. But farmers need more than a thank you—they desperately need support.
But farmers are relentless and resilient. They are fighting back against corporate control and lack of funding. They are finding new ways to farm, building stronger communities, caring for their land, and creating new possibilities for the future. They don’t just believe a better food system is possible; they are proving it’s within our reach every day.
We have a long way to go, but we are not starting from nothing. There are farmers already building the future we want to see. Our job is to stand beside them, lift them up, and keep fighting alongside them.