Farm Aid

Helping farmers thrive - while Farm income held steady in 2023, Farm input costs continued to rise, putting many farmers on a razor-sharp edge. In addition, farmers faced the constant challenges of competing in an ever-consolidating market that favors corporations; trying to earn a fair price in unfair markets; and weather, including extreme weather and natural disasters exacerbated by climate change. The strain in the Farm economy is no accident; it is the result of policies designed to enrich corporations at the expense of farmers, ranchers and eaters. In response, Farm Aid continued to expand our direct farmer response and increased our advocacy of solutions to Farm policy that needs a massive shift in directionone that is equitable to all farmers and delivers fair prices and competitive markets that allow farmers to make a living.through the 1-800-farm-aid hotline and online request for assistance, Farm Aid's hotline operators listen to farmers and refer them to an extensive network of Farm and rural support organizations across the country. Referrals provide immediate support to Farm families in crisis and farmers seeking to transition to more sustainable farming practices, as well as to people interested in establishing Farm businesses. In 2023, Farm Aid received 744 contacts to the hotline and online request for assistance form, 26 of which were spanish language requests. Farm Aid received the highest number of farmer inquiries from California (44), north carolina (19) and Indiana (19).in partnership with the migrant clinicians network, Farm Aid assisted spanish-speaking hotline callers via spanish-language assistance on our hotline. Farm Aid remains engaged in several marketing and outreach strategies to increase knowledge and create partnerships with spanish and farmworker organizations. To mark mental health awareness month in may, Farm Aid engaged in a podcast tour, completing 17 interviews on podcasts with audiences of farmers and farmworkers. The interviews were intended to spread the word about the stressors that farmers and farmworkers face, how the Farm Aid hotline can help, and especially to highlight the spanish-language capacity of the hotline.in 2023, emergency grants totaling more than $41,500 were made to Farm families to cover essential household expenses. These $500 grants are recommended on a case-by-case basis by hotline operators who also connect farmers with helpful services, resources and opportunities specific to their individual needs.farm Aid's farmer resource network (frn) offers an interactive website and database of more than 730 resources that provide guidance for new farmers, direct assistance to farmers in crisis, and support for farmers who wish to transition to more sustainable production methods and markets. Through the frn, Farm Aid makes connections between individuals, Farm service organizations, and businesses to address challenges and create opportunities for farmers. Farm Aid points farmers and advocates to our most trusted resources, new offerings and timely opportunities via our curated resource guides. In 2023, the entire farmer resource network was translated to spanish, to make it accessible to spanish-speaking farmers and farmworkers.farm Aid continues to be part of the Farm and ranch stress assistance network (frsan) via our deep work with the northeast and western regions of that federally funded program; additionally, Farm Aid became a sub-awardee of the southern region of frsan.in may, Farm Aid presented at the usda's mental health awareness event titled Farm stress and suicide prevention: data, challenges, and opportunities, which was co-hosted by the american Farm bureau federation. Farm Aid staff presented and represented at many other conferences and gatherings including faithlands conference, national agribility conference, marbleseed, national ag extension agents conference, food forum, ecofarm, rural coalition, pasa, Indiana small Farm conference, the black loan conference, the latino farmers conference and the world farmers market coalition meeting. Throughout the year, Farm Aid operators and farmer services team members completed trainings in agricultural topics like land trusts and agricultural mediation and mental health topics like ambiguous loss.farm Aid awarded $464,500 in end of year grants to organizations that help farmers secure the resources they need to begin farming, access new markets, grow sustainably and build resilience in the face of crisis and stress.

Promoting food from family farms - the heart of Farm Aid's work to promote food from family farms is our annual Farm Aid festival. Farm Aid 2023 was held at ruoff music center in noblesville, Indiana, on september 23. A crowd of 22,209 enjoyed performances by Farm Aid board members willie nelson, john mellencamp, neil young, dave matthews with tim reynolds, and margo price. Additional artists included by bobby weir & wolf bros, allison russell, lukas nelson & promise of the real, nathaniel rateliff & the night sweats, string cheese incident, particle kid, the black opry featuring kyshona, lori rayne and tylar bryant, the jim irsay band featuring ann wilson of heart, clayton anderson, the wisdom indian dancers and native pride productions. Farm Aid 2023 also featured a surprise performance by bob dylan, backed by members of the heartbreakers, as well as sturgill simpson, who joined margo price's set. All of the artists generously donated their time and travel expenses.on september 23 at Farm Aid 2023: 35 Farm and food organizations engaged festivalgoers in hands-on, interactive activities about family farmers, soil, water and food production in Farm Aid's homegrown village. At the mini Farm, festivalgoers enjoyed a rotational grazing demonstration by local sheep. In the homegrown skills tent, festivalgoers took part in workshops about distilling essential oils, growing cover crops, regional grain production, toolmaking, wool processing and spinning, making natural dyes, seed saving and more. On the farmyard stage, farmers, activists and artists came together in conversation about the benefits of crop diversity, agriculture's promise as a remedy for climate change, the Farm bill, and the next generation of farmers. Engaging people in a hands-on way in the homegrown village and on the farmyard stage fosters deep awareness of key food and Farm issues. Farm Aid partnered with legends hospitality to serve homegrown concessions: family farm-sourced food grown and raised with ecological standards and a fair price paid to farmers. Homegrown concessions builds a strong relationship with farmers, food companies, ethnically diverse food vendors and sponsors. More than fifty menu items featured family Farm food, including many vegetable, fruit, dairy and meat ingredients from Indiana. Many food companies and sponsors donated food for homegrown catering backstage and in vip areas. Chefs volunteered to serve their specialties for guests. The homegrown youthmarket, a Farm fresh stand operated by local young people from local chapters of the grange and ffa, as well as the human agriculture cooperative, sold local apples, pears, grapes, paw paws and pecans to festivalgoers. 60 cubic yards of food and serviceware waste was collected to make compost and build soil for future crops. Farm Aid had a total of 454 volunteers, many of whom helped festivalgoers differentiate between landfill-bound trash, recyclables and compostables. Farm Aid sold reusable water bottles to reduce waste, and aluminum water bottles were sold at concessions stands with free water refills. Farm Aid's festival t-shirts were made with certified organic cotton. Farm Aid partnered with second helpings for the donation of nearly 15,000 pounds of grocery items and useable food remaining after the event, which was used to prepare nutritious meals for hungry children and adults in greater indianapolis. Photos of Indiana farmers and farms served as the backdrop for the music on stage all day. Photographer scott streble, who volunteers for Farm Aid each year, traveled across the state over the summer to document the farmers on their farms. In addition to adding to the messaging of the Farm Aid festival and literally putting farmers center-stage, the process of documenting farmers demonstrates to them how much their work is appreciated and valued. At indianapolis international airport, a Farm Aid exhibit and live music from the black opry greeted visitors flying in for Farm Aid 2023. Corporate sponsors included hard truth distilling company, patagonia workwear, spindrift, frontier co-op and pete and gerry's organic eggs. Farm Aid 2023 generated several major donations as well as individual gifts, including a $1 million donation made on stage by Indiana's jim irsay.farm Aid 2023 shined a spotlight on the essential role of farmers to help solve our climate crisis through innovative methods that sequester carbon and build soil health. Additionally, Farm Aid 2023 emphasized the diversity of farmers and ranchers in Indiana and across the nation. Over the summer, Farm Aid staff visited farms across the state to film videos that bring farmer voices to the Farm Aid stage, tv and web broadcasts, and our website and social media. Featured farmers joined Farm Aid board artists on stage for the annual press event that kicks off each festival, sharing their stories and the ways in which they act as climate stewards on their farms and contribute to the diversity of agriculture that makes it strong.farm Aid 2023 received significant local and regional media coverage, as well as national attention, including from associated press, usa today, the indianapolis star, indianapolis business journal, people, msn entertainment, forbes, new york post, rolling stone and billboard. Coverage resulted in 748 print, online and broadcast media hits and 364 broadcast hits, resulting in 2.4 million media impressions from announcement day through festival-week. Feature stories promoted the entertainment value of the festival, as well as the impact of farmers for climate change mitigation, and the importance of family Farm agriculture for all of us. Local tv crews came out to the pre-events that were held before the festival, including Farm tours and an all-day forum.farm Aid 2023 was broadcast live on circle tv, a music-centric network, for the third time, with Farm Aid's farmer stories and a call-to-action for donations and merchandise sales. Siriusxm satellite radio broadcast the entire concert live, with artists, family farmers and advocates interviewed between music sets. The festival was webcast live on www.farmaid.org and Farm Aid's youtube channel, with 143,000 views and a total watch time of 87,000 hours with more than 4,500 chat messages shared during the webcast.the Farm Aid 2023 app for iphone and android provided festival details including the music lineup, stories about featured farmers, information about exhibits in the homegrown village and the organizations presenting them, and the menu for homegrown concessions. The Farm Aid 2023 app was used by 10,156 people who logged 78,619 sessions with an average session time of just under 6 minutes.farm Aid's social media presence allowed people to share how they support family farmers and Farm Aid, reaching 3.9 million users on x (formerly knowns as twitter), resulting in 6.7 million impressions, and reaching 4.5 million more people on facebook and instagram, during the period between announcement and festival day.

Taking action to change the system - Farm Aid works with local, regional and national organizations to promote fair Farm policies and grassroots organizing efforts. Farm Aid granted $357,500 to family Farm organizations working to ensure competitive markets for family farmers, address antitrust and contract violations, fight factory farms, strengthen the grassroots around a unified vision for our Farm and food system, and amplify an effective farmer voice to reform the food system.in early 2023, Farm Aid re-launched our Farm bill 101 to engage farmers and eaters in the long process to a new Farm bill, which was intended to be passed before the expiration of the existing bill in september. In march, Farm Aid co-organized a three-day "rally for resilience" with national sustainable agriculture coalition (nsac) in Washington d.c., with over 400 farmers and advocates rallying and marching for a climate resilient Farm bill. Farm Aid board member john mellencamp joined the rally, performing and speaking out with farmers, and willie nelson shared a recorded video message of support. As the rally concluded, participants took to the streets, marching from freedom plaza to capitol hill to call on members of congress to ensure that farmer-led climate solutions, racial justice, and communitiesnot corporationsare represented in the 2023 Farm bill. The next day, farmers from across the u.s. met with members of congress to press for a climate resilient Farm bill.in may, Farm Aid hired a new policy and advocacy manager, increasing farn Aid's knowledge, skills and capacity to do policy work and engage our audience in advocacy.in september, Farm Aid hosted the people's hearing on the Farm bill before the annual festival to call for a Farm bill that prioritizes climate resilience, racial equity and access to healthful food and clear water, air and soil. Speakers at the event included farmers, advocates, authors and organizers hailing from all over the country and representing longtime organizational partners of Farm Aid as well as new partners from the festival region. In november, senator cory booker reached out to ask Farm Aid to produce a similar event virtually, which he hosted, to brief congressional members and staffers on the importance of the Farm bill and farmers' priorities for it. Because congress failed to pass a new Farm bill in 2023, these efforts will continue into 2024.throughout the year, Farm Aid signed onto letters and endorsed legislation that supports Farm Aid's policy priorities in the next Farm bill. Farm Aid lent our voice and other support to efforts to change our Farm and food system, including: strengthening the packers and stockyards act, to increase transparency and fairness in contracts with livestock farmers and poultry growers; increasing agricultural competition and enforcement of antitrust laws; supporting beginning and socially disadvantaged farmer and rancher programs and endorsing student loan forgiveness for young farmers; protecting climate funding in the inflation reduction act of 2022; expanding small-farm access to conservation programs and increasing funding for organic research; ending discrimination within usda, protecting remaining black farmers from losing their land, and providing land grants to encourage a new generation of black farmers and restore the land base that has been lost; standing with farmworkers and food chain workers to increase workplace safety and health protections; reforming Farm credit to improve access and accountability, and improving crop insurance programs; supporting critical investments in rural economies across the country by supporting small farmers and ranchers directly; speaking out against federal funding for confined animal feeding operations (cafos) and manure digesters that create factory Farm gas and attempt to greenwash factory farming; and calling on president biden to demand a transformative Farm bill that centers racial justice, ends huger and increasing access to healthy food, meets the climate crisis head on and ensures the safety of food and Farm workers, farmers and consumers, and our entire food system.additionally, Farm Aid created content and opportunities to educate and engage our online audience through advocacy actions and blog posts. These included initiatives around the protection of conservation funding for farmers, federal food purchasing standards, strengthening federal support for young farmers and supporting climate resilient agriculture.finally, throughout the year, Farm Aid supported the critical work of the usda equity commission via the participation of Farm Aid's program director shorlette ammons. The committee was established to advise the secretary of agriculture and provide usda with an analysis of how its programs, policies, systems, structures and practices contribute to systemic discrimination and lack of access and inclusion, or exacerbate or perpetuate racial, economic, health and social disparities. The committee will present its recommendations for action in early 2024.farm Aid's credit working group, made up of people directly serving farmers through one-on-one advocacy in addition to experts in Farm credit and agricultural law, continued to offer and press for reforms that can be made administratively at usda. The working group meets weekly and meets regularly with top usda officials to push for changes that make usda programs and credit more accessible to farmers, especially underserved farmers, with better outcomes for family farmers.farm Aid continues to serve as a leader and contributing member of various collaborative efforts to change our Farm and food system and advance the power and participation of farmers in these efforts. These include efforts to address economic and social injustices across animal agriculture; to elevate on-the-ground solutions to climate change; to build the supply of non-gmo food ingredients and animal feed in the u.s.; and to promote regenerative agriculture.farm Aid also continues its leadership in the philanthropic community to bring funders' attention to the varied challenges faced by family farmers and to encourage collaboration and collective problem solving.

Growing the good food movement (ggfm)- in 2023, Farm Aid and our partners continued to implement strategies that bolster the good food movementthe growing number of eaters demanding family farm-identified, local, organic or humanely raised food. Farm Aid awarded grants in the amount of $135,000 to organizations that strengthen infrastructure for local and regional food systems and raise awareness of their value. These grants support work to create new markets for farmers and enhance access to good food for everyone, regardless of race, color, national origin or zip code.