FARM AID 40: CELEBRATING FOUR DECADES OF PROGRESS FOR FAMILY FARMERS AND STANDING UP TO THE CHALLENGES AHEAD

Legendary artists join millions of supporters to honor Farm Aid's lasting impact as family farmers face their greatest crisis since the 1980s

MINNEAPOLIS, Sept. 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Farm Aid marked its historic 40th anniversary today at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, celebrating a powerful movement born from what was intended to be a one-time concert in 1985. The anniversary coincides with a moment when family farmers are facing the worst economic and environmental pressures in decades, echoing the crisis of the 1980s.

Farm Aid has stood side-by-side with family farmers for four decades — amplifying their voices, connecting them to resources and bringing their stories into the national spotlight. Farm Aid 40 united food producers, artists, advocates and fans to reinvigorate support for America's family farmers as low prices, high input costs, decreasing global markets, corporate consolidation and climate disruption threaten their survival.

Farm Aid's leadership and artist board members reflected on all that family farmers do to steward our soil and water while nourishing our communities. Farmers and food producers from Minnesota shared both the triumphs and challenges of family farming, highlighting the state's powerful role in the farm movement through rural advocacy, sustainable agriculture and forward-thinking policy reform.

Following last week's local labor strike that put the festival at risk of cancellation, Farm Aid Founder and President Willie Nelson said the overwhelming response from across the state and nation proved just how deeply people care about this long-lived mission. Farmers, workers, artists and music fans and stood together to keep the festival and the organization alive.

"John [Mellencamp], Neil [Young] and I could never have imagined the movement that grew from that first show," said Nelson. "We've stood with our partners all these years to give farmers — the hardest working people in America — the support they need to survive against impossible odds. Their willingness to keep going is why we have to keep going. Farmers need us, and we will always need them." 

Organizers emphasized that this anniversary is both a celebration and a call to action. Farm Aid reaffirmed its commitment to meeting the current challenges of the farm movement and invited all those who care about fairness, justice, good food and rural America to join the charge alongside the farmers who feed us all.

The anniversary festival featured performances from founders Nelson and Family, Young (with the Chrome Hearts), and Mellencamp, along with artist board members Dave Matthews (with Tim Reynolds) and Margo Price. The lineup also included Bob Dylan, Kenny Chesney, Billy Strings, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Lukas Nelson, Trampled by Turtles, Wynonna Judd, Steve Earle, Waxahatchee, Eric Burton of Black Pumas, Jesse Welles, Madeline Edwards and Wisdom Indian Dancers.

For the first time in Farm Aid's history, CNN broadcast the festival nationwide, carrying its message to millions of households across the country. SiriusXM and nugs.net also streamed the full event, with coverage that included backstage interviews with artists and farmers.

In collaboration with the University of Minnesota, Farm Aid hosted multiple partner events, including a Farmer Forum that featured a full day of conversations about the work happening within our farm movement. This included a keynote address from Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and panels with local leaders.

Farm Aid's HOMEGROWN Village engaged festivalgoers in hands-on activities about climate, soil, water, energy, food and farming. Activities included Village scavenger hunts, dried flower button making, checking out soil health with microscopes, local food screen print creation and much more. Attendees also heard from artists and farmers on the FarmYard Stage about pressing issues like food access, climate change, corporate power in agriculture, emerging farmers and supporting farmers through the current farm crisis.  

Farm Aid's HOMEGROWN Concessions® served food throughout the venue with ingredients that were produced by family farmers who utilize ecological production practices and received a fair price. A varied menu — all served on compostable serviceware — from diverse farmers offered pork banh mi, wild rice bratwursts with cider sauerkraut, honey ice cream, cheese curds and more. Special kitchen collaborations with Patchwork Family Farms and Owamni Restaurant were featured in Club Cambria. Additionally, the stadium piloted use of r.Cup, a reusable item to reduce single-use cups. Second Harvest Heartland will receive food left over from the event.

Farm Aid 40 was livestreamed on FarmAid.org and Farm Aid's YouTube channel. The webcast began with the press event featuring Farm Aid artists and farmers from across Minnesota, offering a special opportunity to experience a conversation between farmers and artists.

Sponsors of Farm Aid 40 include McKnight Foundation, Tractor Beverage Co., Explore Minnesota, Horizon Organic, 11th Hour Project, Huntington Bank, Seven Sundays, REI Co-op, Frontier Co-op, Minnesota Department of Agriculture and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Collectors and fans have the opportunity to bid on rare, unique items signed by artists at Farm Aid 40. The auction is hosted at farmaid.org/auction and will close on Friday, Oct. 3.

Farm Aid's mission is to build a vibrant, family farm-centered system of agriculture in America. Farm Aid artists and board members Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews and Margo Price host an annual festival to raise funds to support Farm Aid's work with family farmers and to inspire people to choose family farm food. Since 1985, Farm Aid, with the support of the artists who contribute their performances each year, has raised more than $85 million to support programs that help farmers thrive, expand the reach of the Good Food Movement, take action to change the dominant system of industrial agriculture and promote food from family farms.

SOURCE Farm Aid