Sharing on Sunday, September 3 that there are a number of ways to help those in Texas and Louisiana who have suffered as a result of the flooding that followed Hurricane Harvey, Willie Nelson took to Facebook with a Farm Aid post showing the grim status in both states. Torrential rains that came with the storm dumped record amounts on these neighboring states, wiping out crops and fences, stranding livestock, and leaving ranch and farm acreage swamped with standing water.
His comment read: “We have so many ways to help our friends after the floods in Texas and Louisiana. Here is another one, this one will focus on our farmers in need and we have a lot. No matter what, just expend a helping hand in one way or another.”
Photo: Facebook/Farm Aid
Sharing those sentiments last week, George Strait posted to his social media account that a number of music industry stars had been moved to begin planning for fundraising and relief efforts and that fans could soon anticipate notification of forthcoming events. Farm Aid was originally a benefit concert that was started in 1985 in Champagne, Illinois, organized by Willie Nelson, Neil Young, and John Mellencamp to help Americans who were in danger of losing their farms due to mortgage debt. Thirty-two years later, the board now includes Dave Mathews, and the organization continues to wave the flag for American farmers.
Photo: Facebook/Farm Aid
Farm Aid has grown into an organization that works to raise awareness regarding the importance of family farms in the United States and annually hosts a fundraising concert with a lineup of country, rock, and blues artists. Nelson continues to be an integral component of the group, sitting on its board of directors. It also manages a farm disaster fund for those that have lost their crops and belongings due to natural disasters, through which funds raised go towards farmers’ expenses as well as provide food, legal and psychological assistance. Their group has assisted following Hurricane Katrina, as well as the 2011 “super outbreak” of tornadoes that struck Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, Georgia, and Virginia, offering all manner of support to U.S. farmers and their families.
