As Farm Aid marks 40th anniversary, what is the status of American agriculture today?
A combine unloads hundreds of bushels of corn into a grain cart on a farm near Greenfield, Illinois last September. Sophie Proe / St. Louis Public Radio
Today is the 40th anniversary of Farm Aid, the mega-concert that took over Champaign, Illinois’ Memorial Stadium in 1985.
Farm Aid is a nonprofit organization that supports farmers by raising awareness and funds, providing resources to farmers in crisis, and promoting family farm food. Initiated by Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, and Neil Young in 1985 to address the farm crisis of the 1980's, it holds an annual music and food festival and operates a hotline to offer farmers direct assistance.
This year’s festival happened Saturday in Minneapolis, Minnesota. There are some who say our agricultural economy today could be heading for similar trouble as farmers faced back in the day. An agricultural law and policy expert joins the program to discuss what’s happening in farming from a government and policy perspective.
GUEST
Jonathan Coppess
Associate Professor in Agricultural and Consumer Economics, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Director, Gardner Agriculture Policy Program
