You know something has gone very right when an Alaskan salmon fisher and a farmer from Texas are sending selfies from their backstage interview at Farm Aid.
Part of bringing our members to Farm Aid every year is just about that: giving members a chance to have some fun together and find common ground while they enjoy incredible music, food, and atmosphere. Farm Aid is much more than a music festival (though we do love all the incredible music). It’s a celebration of farmers, fishers, and ranchers who often don’t get the appreciation they deserve; it’s an opportunity to build power with allies throughout our movement, and a time to share ideas, commiserate over challenges, and celebrate our wins, small and large. Since Farm Aid itself is one of our closest allies, the conversations and exchanges at Farm Aid carry through our entire year, and this year in Saratoga Springs, NY, was no different.
We kicked things off with the pre-festival events that allow our close-knit group of food and farm activists to enjoy solidarity and community with each other.
Thursday started with a handful of NFFC members touring three local farms to learn about their work (Breadtree Farm, Featherbed Lane Farm, and Pitney Meadows Community Farm) and sampling the literal fruits of their labor. Many of our members also participated in a pilot training opportunity co-hosted by Farm Aid and RAFI that prepared participants to support farmers in the often stressful process of meeting with local FSA offices and applying for FSA programs. The training imparted a blend of practicality and empathy that deeply impacted participants, and will undoubtedly reach many more people now that RAFI and Farm Aid have announced the launch of the Distressed Borrowers Assistance Network.
On Friday, we joined the Farmer Forum, a rousing Rural Call to Action for All, which centered farmer and farm advocate voices to uplift their stories, challenges, and successes. If you missed the forum, and the energizing keynote address by Working Families Party President Maurice Mitchell, check it out on Youtube here!
The Farm Aid festival itself is a kaleidoscopic experience for our members. Whether serving up delicious pork at Missouri Rural Crisis Center’s Patchwork Family Farms tent, being featured in interviews on the FarmYard Stage, or entertaining and educating concert-goers at the HomeGrown Village, the strength of our coalition was all around us!
This spirit of connection is why NFFC always prioritizes making it to Farm Aid, and why we feel it’s so valuable both to engage our members in whichever region the concert lands that year and to bring members with us from different parts of the country. Our members summed it up better than we could.
Tonya Smith, representing Community Farm Alliance, shared with us:
“It was truly an eye-opening and transformative event. If I had to sum up my biggest takeaway, it would be the powerful sense of community—being surrounded by so many like-minded individuals in one space, all radiating positive energy and encouragement.
In my state, I often feel like I’m fighting for a cause alone. My passion for agriculture often differs from that of my peers, and sometimes I feel pressured to follow the path of the majority to achieve broader goals. But at Farm Aid, I encountered voices from every state, organizations driven by the same passion, and policy advocates who not only listened but also offered meaningful advice…It was truly an incredible experience!”
Becky Maden, writing for NOFA-VT as part of the broader NOFA delegation they sent to Farm Aid, said: “We all know that talk isn’t enough, but when the words come from the mouths of incredible people who are already doing so much, and are heading out to do more, there is a glimmer of hope. And, when 21,500 people show up for a fundraiser for farm aid and cheer wildly at images of farmers, we can fill our souls with the vibrancy of a movement, and enjoy great music.”
Feini Yin, North American Marine Alliance’s Communications Director, shared with Lancaster Farming: “We are here because fishermen and farmers are part of the same food system and we have a lot to learn from each other, both in terms of struggles and also victories. We’re here because Farm Aid has been really amazing at involving fishermen, actually in all of their activities and events, and so we’re excited to be here.”
Jeff Bednar, farmer and board member from the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance said:
“This trip reaffirmed for me that FARFA, in partnership with organizations like NFFC, is making a real difference. We are working diligently to advocate for policies that support small farmers and ranchers, and this event underscored the importance of collaboration in achieving our shared goals. I left Farm Aid with a renewed sense of purpose and excitement for the work ahead, knowing that FARFA is making an impact on behalf of its members and the broader community.”
We are grateful to our members who left your farms, families, and communities for a few days to join us at Farm Aid.- it’s always a pleasure for NFFC staff to bring farmers and advocates together. Thank you, Farm Aid, for another great year! We value your support so much, and anticipate many more years of collaboration and kinship.
NFFC Members at Farm Aid 2024
- Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance
- Community Farm Alliance
- Kentucky Black Farmers Association
- Dakota Resource Council
- Agrarian Trust (see Duron Chavis featured here)
- North American Marine Alliance (Feini Yin interviewed by Lancaster Farming)
- Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund
- Dakota Rural Action
- Rural Advancement Foundation International-USA
- Family Farm Defenders (George Naylor interviewed here)
- Land Loss Prevention Project
- Missouri Rural Crisis Center (serving up their delicious Patchwork Family Farms raised pork!)
- Rural Vermont
- Northeast Organic Farming Association
Our members were also featured on the Farmyard Stage and in the Homegrown Village!
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐘𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞 panel discussions included:
- “Climate Change is Changing Agriculture” (with Beckie Phillips, soil scientist, founder of Ecological Insights and member of Dakota Resource Council)
- “Good Food for Everyone” (with Tatum Lewis, owner and farmer at BlackRoots Farms and member of Kentucky Black Farmers Association)
- “Growing Local and Regional Food Systems for Community and Climate” (with Bruce Howlett, co-owner and farmer at Bobolink Farm and member of Rural Vermont)
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐕𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐞 booths included:
- Make Your Mark with Rural Vermont
- Take an Organic Spin! with NOFA-NY
- Two Truths and a Lie with Rural Advancement Foundation International-USA