Farm Aid 2009 was held in Missouri on Sunday, October 4, and featured performances by Farm Aid board members Neil Young, Willie Nelson, Dave Matthews and John Mellencamp.
Held at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Maryland Heights, it was the first time the annual event has been held in the state.
“Family farmers are the first rung of the economic ladder in this country,” said Willie Nelson, president and founder of Farm Aid. “Against all odds, they have persevered and found ways to stay on their land, growing good food for all of us and creating strong communities. It’s time now for policy to rise to meet their needs with fair prices and support for their innovations.”
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 and Dave Matthews host an annual concert to raise funds to support Farm Aid’s work with family farmers and to inspire people to choose family-farmed food. Since 1985, Farm Aid, with the support of the artists who contribute their performances each year, has raised nearly $36 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.
