Monday, September 24, 2012

Celebrating the family farm

Celebrating the family farm

HERSHEY, Pa. - If you thought Farm Aid went the way of the Sony Walkman or the Grateful Dead, you weren't in Chocolate Town USA on Saturday, when 30,000 people turned HersheyPark Stadium into an organic oasis celebrating the family farm and the healthy food movement - not to mention homegrown American music.

Now in its 27th year, the all-star benefit concert, started by country-music legend Willie Nelson to help farmers survive the mid-1980s foreclosure crisis, is still going strong.

No longer a one-day event, Farm Aid has evolved into a national organization promoting the interests of family farmers.

The event returned to Pennsylvania, where agriculture remains the number-one industry, for only the second time in its run.

In 2002, Farm Aid was held in Burgettstown, west of Pittsburgh. This time the location was just a few miles from Lancaster County, which is about to make national history when it hits the milestone of 100,000 acres of preserved farmland. Lancaster boasts soil so rich it's known as the breadbasket of the East.

The first-ever Farm Aid concert drew 54 bands and 78,000 to Champaign, Ill.; Farm Aid is smaller now, with just under a dozen artists drawing 30,000.

Still, Farm Aid has brought in $40 million to benefit farmers and build relationships between consumers and those who produce their food.

"It's a good event that hopefully will open people's eyes to the fact farmers keep the country moving and they need help," said Teri Michelson of Linglestown. She paused to talk during a tour of Homegrown Village, an area featuring booths showcasing sustainable agriculture methods and environmental advocacy groups.

The healthy food movement has indeed grown (Pennsylvania has 600 certified organic farms, the sixth highest in the nation), spawning a record number of farm markets and encouraging industrywide shifts to organic farming methods. But the problems facing small farmers - such as fluctuating milk prices, tighter regulations, and access to distribution networks - are no less acute, organizers say.

 

Every year a gamble

"There is still danger for farmers," said Farm Aid spokeswoman Jennifer Fahy, pointing to the drought that ravaged crops in two-thirds of the United States this year. "They are gamblers every time they put seed in ground."

The musicians - the lineup included the 79-year-old Nelson, Dave Matthews, Kenny Chesney, Neil Young, John Mellencamp, and Jack Johnson - used the spotlight to target agribusiness interests. They said corporate farming wields too much power in Congress, where members last week failed to pass a comprehensive Farm Bill before leaving town.

Before the festival opened, Nelson told hundreds of fans and reporters he was "sorry to have to be here."

"This problem should have been solved years ago," he said.

Despite the problems, according to a 2007 survey, the number of farmers grew for the first time in decades, attracting a more diverse cross section, many working farms of just a few acres, Fahy said.

 

Farm Heads

The atmosphere in the patchouli-scented Homegrown Village had an odd time-warp quality: young people wearing T-shirts paying homage to past rock stars like Janis Joplin, who died before they were born, mixing with the in-your-face activism of the anti-gas drilling "fracktivists" - a term that wasn't even in the lexicon when Farm Aid started.

Fahy said some people she called "Farm Heads" come every year, from all 50 states.

There was a booth dedicated to the "anti-sludge" cause - those who oppose spreading municipal waste on farmland - and other booths where folks could learn about genetically modified organisms (GMOs), rotational grazing, and biogas energy.

Even the concession cups and plates were compostable. Those who put their eating utensils in the wrong bin were swiftly corrected.

Bryan Snyder, executive director of the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture, said the state has a strong farming tradition among the booming Amish and Mennonite populations, which has helped give the next generation of farmers an opportunity to work the land.

"We're ahead because we are behind," he said. "We still have the infrastructure. You can drive 20 minutes from here and see what America used to look like."

Exhibitor Deb Brubaker, 30, of Mifflintown, is still working her family farm northwest of Harrisburg, as her Mennonite ancestors did.

She and her family run Village Acres Farm, which supplies organic fruit and vegetables to farm markets in Washington and to residents of the State College area, who buy their farm products through a subscription.

Brubaker, who was demonstrating a bicycle-powered grain mill her father put together for the festival, said she was pleased that such an event shines a spotlight on a challenging way of life.

HERSHEY, Pa. - If you thought Farm Aid went the way of the Sony Walkman or the Grateful Dead, you weren't in Chocolate Town USA on Saturday, when 30,000 people turned HersheyPark Stadium into an organic oasis celebrating the family farm and the healthy food movement - not to mention homegrown American music.

In 2002, Farm Aid was held in Burgettstown, west of Pittsburgh. This time the location was just a few miles from Lancaster County, which is about to make national history when it hits the milestone of 100,000 acres of preserved farmland. Lancaster boasts soil so rich it's known as the breadbasket of the East.

The first-ever Farm Aid concert drew 54 bands and 78,000 to Champaign, Ill.; Farm Aid is smaller now, with just under a dozen artists drawing 30,000.

Still, Farm Aid has brought in $40 million to benefit farmers and build relationships between consumers and those who produce their food.

"It's a good event that hopefully will open people's eyes to the fact farmers keep the country moving and they need help," said Teri Michelson of Linglestown. She paused to talk during a tour of Homegrown Village, an area featuring booths showcasing sustainable agriculture methods and environmental advocacy groups.

The healthy food movement has indeed grown (Pennsylvania has 600 certified organic farms, the sixth highest in the nation), spawning a record number of farm markets and encouraging industrywide shifts to organic farming methods. But the problems facing small farmers - such as fluctuating milk prices, tighter regulations, and access to distribution networks - are no less acute, organizers say.

 

Every year a gamble

"There is still danger for farmers," said Farm Aid spokeswoman Jennifer Fahy, pointing to the drought that ravaged crops in two-thirds of the United States this year. "They are gamblers every time they put seed in ground."

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