A native Logos of the Midwest , John Mellencamp was a young man in his early 30 in the summer of 1985 , and his record album , Scarecrow , was burn up the charts . Its title Song dynasty , “ pelting on the Scarecrow , ” was a searing comment on what he date happening to farm around his home in Bloomington , Indiana .
This land fed a country , this commonwealth made me proudAnd son I ’m just good-for-naught , there ’s no bequest for you nowRain on the scarecrow , descent on the plowRain on the scarer , ancestry on the plow
As John suppose , “ It is n’t like you had to go search for a moo-cow , or looking for a corn stalk , they were everywhere . They were right outside the door . ” uprise up and as a young mankind , he have sex the multitude who owned those Bos taurus and those cornstalks . They were small , family Fannie Merritt Farmer — people who had originate up on the country , and screw it .
bird-scarer on a wooden cross , blackbird in the barnFour hundred empty Accho , that used to be my farmI grew up like my pappa did , my granddaddy illuminate this landWhen I was five I walk the fencing , while Grandpa oblige my hired man
farmer prospered in the previous 1960s and early 1970s , with a federal farm policy that bolster up alien export of agricultural goods , and tax laws that encouraged outside investing in American agriculture . Because markets and income were so good , sodbuster were encouraged to adopt more and more money . They ingest on sound debt , corrupt extra tilth , even though the land price were severely inflated .
Farmers owed well-nigh $ 50 billion to bank in 1970 , but by 1985 their debt had exploded to $ 215 billion , with an overwhelming $ 20 billion a year in interest , yet the time value of land and other farm assets declined well-nigh 50 percentage from their flush in the recent ‘ 70 . James Leonard Farmer could n’t ante up back the loans , and a tsunami of farm foreclosures sweep the country .
The crops we grow last summer , were n’t enough to pay the loanCouldn’t grease one’s palms the cum to implant this spring , the Farmers Bank foreclosedCalled my old protagonist Schepman , to auction off the landHe say John it ’s just my job , and I hope you read
But there were some people who would n’t take on the change that were ravaging rural America . They would intercede on behalf of the farmers .
MUSIC FOR CHANGEOn July 13 , 1985 , John Rock musician and stripe , from both side of the Atlantic , bugger off together for the alive Aid charity concert , to grow money for African famine relief . During the show , Bob Dylan said something about it being too bad that some of the money being raised could n’t be used to support American Farmer .
Willie Nelson hear Dylan ’s comment , and was goad to action . “ He was going to seek to put this concert together ; I think I was like the first guy he call up , ” John Mellencamp order .
Just six hebdomad later , on September 22 , 1985 , before a crowd of over 80,000 mass in Champaign , Ill. , the first Farm help concert find . Willie , John , and their ally , Neil Young , had recruited a authentic who ’s who of musicians . Over 60 acts performed , raising over $ 7 million for America ’s family farmer . As John explains , “ Every rock-and-roll band , and every country band , and every folk band in America was there . The first guy on the human activity was Jon Bon Jovi ; he started the show and it just went on and on and on from there . ”
The who ’s who ingredient has preserve . In 16 concert , Willie , John and Neil have drawn 329 artist into the fold . From Alabama and the Allman Brothers Band to Joe Walsh and Dwight Yoakam , some of euphony ’s big names have arrive to perform , and have donated not only their prison term , but also all their expenses link with play at Farm Aid , making the concert a true benefit . Some artist have wager Farm Aid only once or double ; others , like Dave Matthews , or Hootie and the Blowfish , wreak whenever their schedules grant .
Jim “ Soni ” Sonefeld , drummer for Hootie and the Blowfish , remembers well the band ’s first execution at Farm Aid 1995 . “ I can assure you we were very nervous dumbfound up in front of all those people at the first Farm Aid concert we did , and realizing that Willie Nelson invited us to do this gig with him . We were still very impressionable and we wanted the luck to be on with our idols . I think we get the call to do Farm tending , and realized ‘ wow , ’ John Mellencamp ’s gon na be there , Neil Young ’s gon na be there , Willie ’s gon na be there . ”
But the chance to be on with these idols is n’t what ’s maintain Hootie number back prison term and again . Soni grew up much like John Mellencamp did , in a modest Midwestern town where corn and cows predominated , but he check farm friend from schooltime parting as the sept farms were sell for arm , and he saw independent businesses give way to big box storehouse . “ I have always believed in , and stress to actively support , the small bozo and the local hombre in any business , from farming to a lot of different job . Why have the mom - and - tonic platter computer memory and the mom - and - pop convenience stores gone out of business ? Why have family farmers gone out of business ? … ”
pee-pee A DIFFERENCEFarm help is about the euphony to most concertgoers , but to the artists themselves , it is very much about the cause . At its genesis , the cause was the depression — both economical and spiritual — that was troubling rural America ; today it is still about crime syndicate farmers , but it is also about supply the American multitude with a good , fresh and locally acquire food provision from family Farmer , who are often good stewards of the body politic — for atmosphere and water lineament , and for wildlife .
The termination of these artist ’ generosity has been that , since its inception , Farm Aid has granted over $ 17 million to more than 100 farm organizations , church and service agencies in 44 states . Many Farm Aid grants are used for direct services , like food and emergency aid , legal assistance and hotlines — services that have help thousands of struggle farm family across the land last out on the land . Farm Aid also grants funds to non-profit-making organizations around the area that promote outreach , education and the development of foresightful - terminus solutions for the problems face rural America . In late year , some of this bread and butter has gone to local efforts that confront the scourge of increase corporate control of agriculture .
When Farm Aid get down , the farm crisis was “ on the front pageboy of the newspaper almost daily . There were foreclosures , and farmers cash in one’s chips to help each other at penny auctions [ farmers endure each other by bid very grim to squeeze the auctions ’ cancellation ] . People were very conscious about it , ” says Carolyn Mugar , Farm Aid ’s executive director .
Carolyn was recruited by Willie Nelson to help , about 10 Day before the first concert . She order that although the farm crisis is not on the front pages of the newspaper anymore , there is still a real need . The farm crisis has become a chronic trouble , but Carolyn understand something to be hopeful about . “ People are becoming more witting about where their nutrient fall from and they are concerned about whether they are going to have access to smart , locally grown , family farm raised intellectual nourishment as match to solid food from factories , or food from other countries . We get laid that masses are more and more interested in create a commitment to link up with family farms . ”
LOOKING BACK , LOOKING AHEADI ask John if , in the summer of ‘ 85 , he think he was operate to be part of something that would go on for years and be such an influence on the dialog about rural America and our food system , or did he think they would do one concert , raise some money to give away , and that would be that ? “ Oh , definitely , I think the latter of the two was about all the visual modality I had . I ca n’t speak for Willie or Neil , but that ’s about all the word we had at first . You have to imagine , at that time it was really quite an labor , just doing that first concert . ”
But as everyone associated with Farm help points out , the trouble have not gone away so neither has Farm Aid . It continues to turn and change , responding to changing , but carry on demand . Carolyn points to an lesson : “ When we started , we knew that industrial agriculture was on the horizon , but it really go come in into people ’s knowingness much clearer as factory farms arose in rural communities , ruining air quality , contaminate river and driving family farmers out of business . hoi polloi are realizing what this horror is , and they are more willing to start taking notation of the difference between industrial nutrient and family farm lift food . ”
John follows up on the point . “ When we started out we took a lot of paths and avenues that we hope would help family granger . But we realize as we were traveling them that they did n’t seem to be going peculiarly the way that we ’d hoped . We could see that just being there for the farmer was n’t going to knead ; we decided to take a more educational position and tried to be more proactive with the general world . ”
What John sees as important in terminal figure of the organization ’s ability to ensure ongoing support of the cause is the financial support of younger musicians . “ I ’ll recount you , I am always surprised about the people who want to act at Farm Aid . I had three youthful acts wanting to participate last year , andthese masses were 22 years erstwhile — they had grown up watching it , and they were just so eager to play Farm help , ” he says .
Thanks to his commitment to Farm financial aid , Willie , John and Neil extended an invitation to Dave Matthews ( who owns a farm of his own in Virginia ) to conjoin the board of directors of Farm help in 2001 . John say , “ Dave ’s enthusiasm and commitment to Farm tending have been just incredible . I remember it must have been 1995 , in Louisville , Ky. , that he first played with us — that was before he was so well known , he was just starting out , but his committedness to Farm Aid was very full-grown . He was so activated to be a part of everything and cultivate so hard .
“ Dave is not one of those guy rope that ‘ half - piece of tail ’ anything , ” he adds with a laughter .
One thing is for trusted , with new artist coming on board , and the commitment of John , Willie , Neil and Dave , Farm Aid will uphold to provide great music for an important cause , and it will stay on to advocate a food system that keeps the family farmer as the caretaker of the terra firma .
HFLyrics to “ Rain on the Scarecrow ” used with permit of John Mellencamp . This article first appear in the July / August 2004 issue ofHobby Farmsmagazine .
This clause first appeared in the July / August 2004 issue of
