Mellencamp: Unfortunately, there’s still a need for Farm Aid

Farm Aid was presented Saturday as a fundraiser for independent farmers for the 35th time since 1985. But the event’s longevity isn’t necessarily a good thing because it means independent farmers are still threatened, said Farm Aid co-founder and Indiana-based rock star John Mellencamp.

During a morning press event at Noblesville’s Ruoff Music Center, Mellencamp recalled devising the first Farm Aid, staged in Champaign, Illinois, with Willie Nelson and Neil Young.

“I don’t believe any of us ever, in our wildest dreams, would think 38 years later there would still be a need to do Farm Aid,” Mellencamp said.

At the same time, as he told the IBJ later in the day, he had an inkling that a long haul might be necessary.

When he and Nelson testified at a Senate Agriculture Subcommittee hearing in the 1980s, Mellencamp said a lawmaker asked if the musicians brought their guitars. “I told Willie, ‘I’m out of here,’” Mellencamp said.

Farm Aid became an annual in-person event, aside from years off in 1988, 1991 and 2020 (when an online version was presented because of the pandemic).

Central Indiana now has hosted three editions of the concert, with a 1990 show at the bygone RCA Dome and a 2001 show at Ruoff Music Center preceding Saturday’s event.

In the early years of Farm Aid, organizers were pushing changes in legislation that would help farmers could stay afloat financially.

Today, the event includes the promotion of food sovereignty and racial justice as well as opposition to corporate power.

Mellencamp said things haven’t changed much since the start of the event. “It’s always the government,” he told the IBJ, that looks out for corporate farming interests while not helping independent farmers.

For more than two decades, Young has criticized concentrated animal feeding operations, also known as “factory farms,” as an unhealthy development in agriculture.

The Socially Responsible Agriculture Project is a national organization led by Spencer resident Sherri Dugger. The group, which advises communities when factory farms are proposed nearby, maintained an informational booth at Farm Aid.

“When a community finds out that one of these operations is moving in next door, they call us,” said Julie Wilson, the organization’s communications manager.

During the morning press event, Young encouraged citizens to know where their food originates. He also said walks can replace short car trips.

“This is so simple,” Young said of lifestyle changes to help the environment.

Farm Aid organizers characterized farmers as the first responders to climate change issues. Sobremesa, an organic farm in Bloomington, was highlighted for its water conversation practices.

“This planet is not going to die,” Mellencamp said. “The people on it are going to die if we don’t start taking care of ourselves more than we are.”

After releasing a studio album titled “Orpheus Descending” and playing more than 70 concert dates this year, Mellencamp told the IBJ that he will devote part of his 2024 to working on a Broadway musical that features hits from his career.

Mellencamp said he invited the JIm Irsay Band to play Saturday’s concert as a reciprocal gesture for the “Pink Houses” singer’s appearances at Irsay’s Colts Kickoff Concert at Lucas Oil Stadium in 2022 and 2023.

Colts owner Irsay donated $1 million to Farm Aid on Saturday, replicating the amount he gave to the cause one year earlier.