Farm Aid to hold concert in suburban St. Louis

ST. LOUIS -- Farm Aid, the longest-running benefit concert in the nation, will come back to the Heartland with this year's show in suburban St. Louis.

The event, first held in Champaign, Ill., has moved often in its 24 years and was held most recently on the East Coast. Farm Aid organizers announced its return to the Midwest on Thursday at the historic Soulard Farmers' Market in St. Louis as farmers sold fresh corn, peppers and peaches from wooden stands.

Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews will perform Oct. 4 at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Maryland Heights, Mo.

Ticket pre-sales for Farm Aid members begin Friday with seats available to the public July 25.

About 20,000 people attended last year's show in Mansfield, Mass., raising $1 million for the not-for-profit dedicated to helping family farmers. Organizers expect a similar-sized crowd this year.

Farm Aid has raised nearly $35 million since Nelson started it nearly a quarter century ago. Nelson heard Bob Dylan say from the Live Aid stage in 1985 that something should be done to help struggling American farmers. He agreed, and produced the first Farm Aid concert for 80,000 fans. It has been an annual event since 1992.

This fall's concert marks the first time the event will be held in Missouri, which has 108,000 farms, according to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service. Only Texas has more.

"It's a fabulous concert. You can listen to the music, get the message. You can actually get involved right then and right there," said Rhonda Perry, 42, a livestock and grain farmer from outside of Armstrong, Mo. Concertgoers can sign issue petitions or get information about helping with agricultural causes, she said following the news conference.

Perry works with groups including Patchwork Family Farms, which sells sustainably-raised pork and beef to consumers, grocery stores and restaurants. Patchwork Family Farms has sold its products at Farm Aid since 2000, so instead of the usual concert fare, Farm Aid attendees can get a pork chop or ham-steak sandwich.

Other family farmers sell everything from hamburgers made from locally raised beef to roasted vegetables at the event.

Farm Aid spent $26 million on farming programs through 2007, spokeswoman Jennifer Fahy said. That includes $19 million in grants given to groups that work to change farm policy, encourage people to buy food from family farms, or create links between farmers and consumers.

Farm Aid runs a hot line that helps farmers dealing with credit problems, rising production costs and other issues. It also keeps an online database used to link farmers with groups developing new approaches to producing, processing and marketing food.

During the concert, musicians talk about family farms, and video clips featuring farmers are played. Concert goers can sign up for e-mails about farmers and agricultural issues.

"People have come to see the importance of family farms and the importance of family farm food," Farm Aid's executive director Carolyn Mugar said. But, she added, "we still take crisis calls."