"Well they told me I owe Texas."

"No, you owe taxes, Willie."

"Aw fark, man!"

/RIP sam

I hope that catering menu includes cheesesteaks and hoagies-otherwise the stagehands won't be happy

/was unfortunate enough to have to eat vegan lunches because the "stars" demanded we do so or be fired

FTFA: He was standing by the grill at the Patchwork Family Farms area, as a row of pink pork chops awaited a lathering of Show Me BBQ sauce.

Mmmmmmmmmmmm. Pork chops.

/that is all

FTFA:"speechifying"-is that a word?

/I like it even if it isn't

Farm Aid--helping people who can't run a buisness for decades now!

How about 'incompetent small resteraunt owner' aid?

Or 'Stupid idea for a small specialty shop' aid?

Or 'they built a coffee shop next to two other cofeee shop' aid?

Or 'Opened a cheap quality high priced department store across from a Wal-0Mart' Aid?

For the record, the concert was held across the river from
Philadelphia, in Camden, NJ (of all places!).

Organizer Willie Nelson, facing the press and some legal uncertainty since his drug bust Sept. 18, hadn't lost his sense of humor:

"I'm glad to be here. I'm glad to be anywhere at this moment. And Camden, N.J., looks wonderful to me."

Don't worry Willie, if it had been spinach you could have died!

Don't forget the mushroom farmers.

I thought I saw this on the TF page and in the headline it included mushroom growers along with the grass farmers.

Or I'm just freaking out, man.
/Willie got off easy.

May not be a fan of Country Music, but Willie is way cool

Whoops! I lost my shroom!

Did he bring his pounds of marijuana with him?

"HELP HELP! We're being oppressed!"

New Jersey, where the concert was played, has a very large number of farms. 17% of New Jersey land is farms, and most of those farms are under 100 acres. 80% of New Jersey farms are owner operated, only 1% are non-family corporate farms. New Jersey exported over 20 million dollars worth of vegetables in 2005.

Isn't this what "Farm Aid" is all about, supporting and promoting the family owned farm.

In addition, PA is in the top 5 states for dairy exports, and ninth in vegetable exports.

Just because they are "Red" States, they can't have a thriving farm economy?

incrdbil:

The best produce comes from the best farms. The best food is built from the best produce. No question.

This is not about business skills - it is about quality produce. And maybe MBAs who cost-cut every small player out of business should be taken to see how their supermarket produce grows.

Good work Willie & co. If the world's best chefs agree then there is probably something worth considering. Especially by the populace of the world's fattest country.

Also it leads to a bigger question relating to large chains marginalizing every small business. Means that unless us & our kids toe the company line we are farked.

And I bet there was some quality cince passed around...

oops, I meant "Blue" States

Have you guys seen my stash?

My....moustache?

It's been rough and rocky travelin',
But I'm finally standin' upright on the ground.
After takin' several readings,
I'm surprised to find my mind`s still fairly sound.

I guess Nashville was the roughest,
But I know I said the same about them all.
We received our education
In the cities of the nation, me and Paul.

Almost busted in Laredo,
But for reasons that I'd rather not disclose,
But if you're stayin' in a motel there and leave,
Just don't leave nothin' in your clothes.

And at the airport in Milwaukee,
They refused to let us board the plane at all,
They said we looked suspicious,
But I believe they like to pick on me and Paul.

I guess Nashville was the roughest,
But I know I said the same about them all.
We received our education
In the cities of the nation, me and Paul.

Los Lonely Boys

una maravilla golpeada

Whoohoo, go Willie and co.! Since I moved to an Ag centered community, I've learned a whole lotta about food, how it's grown and how it gets from the field/feedlot/barn to the table. One of the finest suppliers of produce, cherry cider and other assorted sundry items is a family owned farm out in these parts...of course, I work for a large Ag company myself and have seen some of the crazy chemicals that are sprayed on to the fields. Take a look next time driving out in the "country" and look at a field of corn, soybeans, whathaveyou. See any birds out there in that field? Any bugs? Any sign of life other than the terrogator operators?

/go organic and sustanible (sp?) agriculture
//willy nelson is one of my heroes :)

Farm subsidies -- huge welfare sinkhole.

So what kind of grass farming is Willie Supporting??

Camden, NJ, home of Campbell Soup Company, helping Jersey farmers dispose of excess crops for over 125 years!

Still not as cool as Hemp Aid.

/obscure?

There is a lot of farm land in PA and NJ. You know that movie "Signs" with all the corn fields? The county it was filmed in (Bucks) borders Philadelphia county.

The Amish aren't very far away from here too.

Yeah you know what, fukk the farmers if they cant mantain their own crops and machinery! If they cant handle it, I want a massive corperation that has elitist CEO's and shareholders that will steal employees retirement funds and spend it on thai ladyboys and cocaine. Who cares if it is a property and business that has been in the family for generations, if they cant afford that new $400,000 piece of machinery then they deserve to rot!
\WHY DO YOU HATE AGRICULTURE?

I was born on a dairy farm. The fact is the small family farm is too inefficient to compete in today’s market. Just as the neighborhood grocery store has given way to the modern supermarket, so the family farm must give way to the corporate farm. It is economic 101, it sucks but it is reality. Near the end my Uncle was working a full time job as well as running the farm. My dad and older brothers spent up to 15 hours a week each during the peek time without pay and the farm still went under. It was too small. Over head was too big a percentage. Remember the farmer only gets 10 to 15% of the price you pay for produce. I miss the farm, but I doubt my Uncle will miss the 100 hour weeks put in, just to get by.

Sebastian: New Jersey, where the concert was played, has a very large number of farms. 17% of New Jersey land is farms, and most of those farms are under 100 acres. 80% of New Jersey farms are owner operated, only 1% are non-family corporate farms. New Jersey exported over 20 million dollars worth of vegetables in 2005.


i was coming in here to rail on industrial farming.....small farms still exist?

The ineffiecancy based upon the size of a business is perception based. There is no reason a business cannot thrive maintaining a realistic operating cost and serving at least a local market.
\Not every small business is looking to compete with Wal-Mart.
\\Damn. It's almost like you people would rather see the erosion of American small business than to support it.
\\\Lives in a heavy AG. area, and would like to remind you that not every walk of life sports Nike air and shops at the local emporium for designer threads, after a triple shot espresso. This is their livelyhood and only means of existence!

mmm...produce

*sigh*

Some people will never understand capitalism.

..."In the fetal position, with drool on my chin,
I messed up and smoked weed with Willie again."

/Toby Keith rocks

I never understood Farm Aid. In my high school days and on the heels of Live Aid, I was gullible enough to think "rah rah...yay for farmers".

But around ten years after that (mid-to-late 90s) I started thinking: "Why the fark don't these farmers QUIT farming and do something that allows them to earn a decent living? Why do they expect subsidies from the government and gullible music fans?

Did anybody ever launch "Geek Aid", to benefit out-of-work sysadmins a few years ago? What about subsidies for people who can't afford the outrageous cost of prescription drugs in the U.S.?

bake420

Apparently, there are still family farms out there. I got the information from the New Jersey Department of Agriculture.

A friend grew up on a family farm in South Jersey. The farm is still in the family and operating. They grow sweet corn, tomato, cucumber, squash and pumpkin. Their farm is just under 100 acres, and staffed by family and seasonal workers. They mostly hire teenagers over the summer to harvest the crops and staff the farmer's market.

The fewer farmers...the more pricey the food. We cannot depend completely on outside food sources.

dOReGASM

*sigh*

Some people will never understand capitalism.

So giant corportate farms getting massive government subsidies, tax breaks, etc. while the small farmers get almost nothing is capitalism?

You are going to sit there and tell me that all those lobbyists in washington have no effect on the policy of the US government?

You sir are a dumbfu*k of the highest caliber.

If you like socialsim/communism there aren't any laws that say you cannot leave my country.

Now STFU and go die in a fire.

specialkae

Apparently, you're not a farmer, or don't go out into the fields to see the plethora of insects, birds, wildlife, diseases, and weeds that render huge losses in yields. You can't even spell "sustainable." Large ag company, my ass.

Go sustainable and organic and see what production levels do. There's not enough land to feed people and livestock with that land production system.

You must not be hungry to have such an elitest attitude toward food and rampant disregard for the hungry. STFU and GBTW.

Look up Norman Borlaug and his work, and see if you don't want to think some more on the hippie food issues.

What? You've never heard of Norman Borlaug?

DulceEtDecorumEst
If your homegrown isn't good enough that people jump all over it instead of some mass-produced beesters, you are doing something wrong. Freshly produced specialty strain local small-batch hydro is top of the crops and shouldn't be "displaced" by anything in any market.

(Fluffy larfy hermie amateur grown closet shiatweed is a different matter though!)

/are you a "citizen grower" if they disenfranchise you because of it?