Farm Aid 2004
w/Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews, Neil Young
Sat Sept 18, White River Amphitheatre, 2 pm, $30-$95.

Since its 1994 release, the major-label debut by the Dave Matthews Band, Under the Table and Dreaming, has sold more than six million copies in the U.S. alone. Since 1984, the number of dairy farms in Washington State has decreased by 62.5 percent. Now... which one of those statistics do you reckon is more important to Matthews?

Since 2001, Matthews has served on the board of directors of Farm Aid, joining founders Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, and Neil Young. Launched in 1985, in response to a widespread wave of farm foreclosures, this national nonprofit helps family farms stay in operation, producing safe, healthy, fresh food. Which, as Eric Schlosser illustrated in his bestseller, Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal, is no slight task in this era of genetic engineering, corporate consolidation, and factory farming. "Family farmers care about the land they farm. We need to keep as many farmers on their land as possible--for their sake and ours," says Mellencamp.

Farm Aid also throws a kick-ass annual concert, and Farm Aid 2004 is no exception. In addition to the aforementioned quartet of headliners, the bill features Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams, Tegan and Sara, and Jerry Lee Lewis.

This year, Farm Aid, which has raised $26 million since its inception, comes to the Pacific Northwest for the first time. But this is one showbiz extravaganza where location, location, location isn't an essential component for success. "The event itself draws in support from all over the country," notes Steve Demos, CEO of natural-foods company White Wave, manufacturer of Farm Aid 2004 sponsor Silk Soymilk. "No matter where the concert is, it's going to touch our vendors and suppliers."

Farm Aid's mission is especially crucial to businesses like Demos'. "We in the organic food business actually pay more to that small farm for organic products. So if the threat to the independent farm is that they can't make enough money to be viable, we're giving them a solution to increase the value of whatever they're doing on their farm, and making them more solvent."

One beneficiary of Farm Aid's assistance grants is the grassroots advocacy organization Washington Sustainable Food & Farming Network. According to Eastern Washington organizer Maurice Robinette, emphasizing organic crops may offer salvation for struggling farms in our state, where the number of dairy farms, apple orchards, and wheat growers has plummeted over the past 20 years. "The organic business is booming, and it's projected, nationwide, to be a 10-billion-dollar business this year," says Robinette. "And in five years, it's estimated to be at 20 billion dollars." Hopefully, those numbers will interest some younger folks to pursue careers in agriculture; as is, Robinette estimates the median age at most Network meetings is 55.

"Family farms are disappearing at an incredible rate," he adds. Total acreage doesn't drop much, because bigger, neighboring farms buy up land. But the farmers and their families do disappear. "The implications of that are horrendous for small towns. You lose 10 or 15 farms in a little town like Almira, and you lose a grocery store or the drugstore." And then, to paraphrase Neko Case, it's make way for the Wal-Mart.

Even though Farm Aid does good work all year round, the big show still gets the most attention nationally. And that's okay, according to participants. "You need these kind of benefits, especially when they're associated with lots of famous names," says Tegan, of Canadian duo Tegan and Sara. At 23, the twin sisters (who just released their third album, So Jealous, on Young's record label, Vapor) represent exactly the younger demographic the organization needs to sustain its efforts. "Farm Aid is a great way to educate people about what's going on," she concludes. Just don't expect Lynne Cheney to pop out shaking her maracas.

For more information on helping family farms, visit www.farmaid.org. To learn about the Washington Sustainable Food & Farming Network, check out www.wsffn.org.