July 11, 2023 • 17 mins
Gunner flies solo in this one speaking with Jennifer Fahy, Communications Director for Farm Aid.
Since 1985, Farm Aid has raised over $70 million dollars to help family farms. The need for help has never been greater than today. It's a fun talk about music, farming and Willie Nelson's bus! Listen to check out the Farm Aid 38 lineup!
Since 1985, Farm Aid has raised over $70 million dollars to help family farms. The need for help has never been greater than today. It's a fun talk about music, farming and Willie Nelson's bus! Listen to check out the Farm Aid 38 lineup!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Well, it is a great pleasureto have with us today someone who is
going to be bringing very good newsabout farm Aide joining us Farmaid's communication director.
Hello, Jennifer Fahey, Hi Gunner, how are you today? Well,
I am doing wonderful and my goodness, you know farm made number what
is going to be coming up?Well, this is our thirty eighth year
(00:24):
and yeah, in the third festivalin Indiana. We're super glad to be
back. My goodness, I meanthis is big news for us here in
Indiana farm Aide thirty eight, whichI can hardly believe at this point.
So, Jennifer, before we starttalking about, you know, a little
bit of family farms, because wewant to know about that. We have
a lot of them here in Indiana, give us some detail on what is
(00:49):
going on with Farmaide thirty eight.Well. It will be held on Saturday,
September twenty third at Ruof Music Centerin Noblesville. It is a full
day event with incredible music, homegrownfood from family farms, and hands on
interactive activities to get people engaged infood and agriculture. It is an awesome
(01:10):
day for the full family and everyonewants to start with the Music. So
it's Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp,Neil Young who all co founded Farm Maide
in nineteen eighty five nearby and ChampagneIllinois. And then we also have Dave
Matthews and Margot Price who are alsoon our board of directors. In addition,
we've got Bobby Weir and Wolf Bros. We've got Lucas Nelson, Nathaniel
(01:34):
Radliff and The Night Fliss, AlisonRussell, The String Cheese Incident and Particle
Kid. It's an incredible lineup ofreally cool bands that you don't want to
miss. Oh, we are speakingwith Jennifer Fahey, the communications director for
farm Aid. All right, youjust said all of those artists. In
my head is slightly exploding right nowbecause this is a wonderful lineup. One
(01:56):
of my wife's favorite favorite performers,Nathay Annual Rate left in the Night Swats.
I mean, we've got the rockand Roll Hall of Famers. We
got all of those guys in there, But my goodness, what a great
bill? Can you tell me?When does the music start? On September
twenty third out at Ruoff doors willopen at noon and music starts shortly thereafter,
(02:19):
and we heard actually that the curfewis a little loose there. So
normally we go to eleven o'clock atnight, it's usually an eleven hour show.
We'll probably go a little bit laterwith that extra loose curfew and with
this jam packed lineup. In addition, we have the incredible food that I
mentioned. We call it Homegrown Concessions. We source all the ingredients for the
(02:39):
menu items at Farm Aid from familyfarm sources because we care about what family
farmers are earning and we want tomake sure they get a fair price.
We guarantee they get a fair pricefor the product we buy and actually that
it's grown and raised with an ecologicalstandard. So it's going to be from
local Indiana farms, organic farms,farms using climate friendly methods to take care
(03:05):
of our soil and water. Andlet me tell you, it is the
best food you'll ever get in amusic event. You like to have some
regional specialties, so would love tohear from your listeners what we have to
make sure we have on the menuto represent Indiana. But it's incredible food
and you might end up eating yourdinner standing next to the farmer who raised
(03:27):
it. My goodness. Well,you know, let's go ahead and dive
into the issue of family farms.What is the current state of the family
farmer on a national basis. Well, it's still challenging. You know,
when Willie and John and Neil cameup with the idea for farm aid in
nineteen eighty five, they did notever imagine they'd be doing it all these
(03:47):
years later. But farming remains areally difficult occupation and lifestyle. Of course,
it's not just a job for thefolks who are out there working this
hard every day to bring us goodfood, and that's why we do what
we do, and we want toraise those issues around why it is so
hard to farm, why it's soexpensive for farmers to get on the land
(04:12):
and purchase the inputs that they needto do the farming that they do.
And then additionally, you know,they've got the challenge of weather, which
has always always existed for farmers,and now we have on top of that
these extreme weather events that we're seeingall across the country right now as a
result of increasing climate change, andthat's impacting farmers. We've got farmers facing
(04:34):
extreme flooding, drought, wildfires,extreme heat. There are a lot of
challenges out there, and it's reallynot getting easier for farmers, and yet
we need them more and more withevery day that goes by. So that's
what we're all about, celebrating thosepeople who are working so hard to bring
us good food and take care ofour soil and water, and making them
(04:55):
feel like the heroes they are.For that day, we are speaking with
farm Maaide communications director Jennifer Fayhey,and we are going to have Farm Made
thirty eight September twenty third at RuolphMusic Center. You know, now we
know, Jennifer, why John didnot book in Indianapolis show on his tour.
People in Indie were like, what, he's going to Evansville, He's
(05:19):
going to South ben what about Indianapolis. But we're going to have him right
here on September twenty third. Yeah, we're really grateful he saved that for
farm Aide And that's a great reminderto me to mention that actually all these
artists play for free, and theypay to get here and do the show
(05:40):
for family farmers. A lot ofthem, like John, have been supporting
agriculture for decades. Many of themcome from a farming background. Margot Price
had farm family in Illinois who losttheir farm during the farm crisis of the
eighties. These issues that farmers areup against are really important to these artists
and they do this show out ofthe generosity of their hearts and their pockets,
(06:03):
and we're so grateful for that.Let's go ahead and talk about some
numbers. This is going to bethe thirty eight farm Aide how much money
over the years has been raised anddispersed to family farmers. We've been able
to raise seventy million dollars and thatis dispersed to farmers and farm organizations across
(06:23):
the country. It also has enabledFarmaid to be an organization that works three
hundred and sixty five days, notjust that one festival day, but all
year. We have a farmer hotlinethat we answer and we're hearing from farmers
all over the country. Some ofthem, you know, we're calling with
major issues they're facing, and someof them are calling to say, hey,
(06:44):
I want to explore some new ideasor I want to help figure out
how I transition my farm to thenext generation. So that's really important work
that we do. We're advocating forpolicies that are good for family farmers and
for rural communities and for protecting oursoil and water. And we're doing this
education with folks to help them understandwhere their food comes from, why they
(07:04):
should care about who grows it andhow it's grown. We are speaking with
the communications director for farm Aid,Jennifer Fahey, and you heard her say
it, this is not just,you know, one event a year.
You guys are working twenty four seven. Talk a little bit about how you
know the current inflation has affected thefamily farmer and what can family farmers do
(07:28):
about that inflation. It's really hardout there right now. The costs for
agriculture have skyrocketed, so you havefarmers who are on the land who are
struggling with the costs of energy andseeds and fertilizer and feed for their animals.
And then for those folks who wantto get started in farming. A
lot of folks are re engaged inagriculture. They may not have grown up
(07:53):
on a farm, they may nothave a farm coming down being passed through
the family to them, and theywant to get on the land and the
cost of land has skyrocketed, soyou know, it's we've made a lot
of progress since FARMA it started innineteen eighty five, and yet those challenges
still remain for people to be ableto do this work and stay on the
(08:15):
land and grow the good food thatwe all need, and for new people
to get started, which we needmore and more off because you know,
fewer and fewer of us are involvedin the day to day of agriculture.
And yet obviously we all eat atleast three times a day, so we
need our farmers out there for us. And so this is our day to
really say we're behind you, wesupport you, and we want to make
(08:39):
sure you can keep doing what youdo best. And again it's going to
be Farm Made thirty eight right herein Indianapolis or Noblesville at Ruolph Music Center.
Some of you may still call itDeer Creek. The date is going
to be September twenty third, soyou know we're talking about family farms.
Did you guys also work with veterans, which I think is amazing because there
(09:03):
is therapy in working with your hands, working the land. Talk about how
you guys have partnered and help outveterans. Absolutely more people have realized that
agriculture I actually work with one farmerwho calls it agras therapy. He's a
veteran who was really struggling with hismental health. His father introduced him to
(09:24):
a friend of his who was ranchingin Florida, and this farmer came home
and said, that's what I've gotto do. This was the way that
I could reconnect with what makes mefeel good and what makes me happy.
So he brings veterans onto his farmnow to introduce them to that. It's
absolutely critical, and there are somany veteran farmers out there who are doing
(09:45):
this incredible work healing their traumas thatthey've received through their service for our country
and also healing the soil in theland and bringing good food to all of
us. So, yeah, that'sthat's a pretty incredible ship that we've begin
to se begun to see in agricultures, farmers coming or sorry, veterans coming
back and becoming farmers. Farmaid supportsthe number of organizations that are helping to
(10:07):
train farmer veterans and support the greatwork that they do. We are speaking
with Jennifer Fahey, the communications directorfor farmaide Hey. If there are farmers
or veterans that are looking for moreinformation and they haven't yet reached out.
What is a good way for thosefolks to get in touch with the Farmaid
(10:28):
organization. You can go onto ourwebsite farmaid dot org. We have our
Farmer Resource Network there right at thetop. It will give you the phone
number one eight hundred FARMAIDE so youcan connect with a person and speak to
them. We have an incredible teamof operators on our hotline, all of
whom have agricultural experience. When farmerscall, they want to talk to someone
(10:50):
who understands agriculture, and we havethat own our hotline. We can connect
folks to resources to help them getinvolved in a culture or connect in the
various ways they're already connected a littlemore deep and that Farmer Resource Network also
you can enter your information, saywhat state you're in, say what kind
(11:11):
of resources you're looking for, andit will bring you up a lift of
resources that can help you. Anothergreat organization we partner with is called the
Farmer Veteran Coalition and I highly recommendthem their national They do amazing work with
veterans all over the country and it'sa great place to get started. Jennifer
fayhe is with us communications director forthe Farmaid Organization. We are going to
(11:35):
have Farmaide thirty eight, Willie,John Mellencamp, Neil Young, so many
more, Dave Matthews, Bobby Whereis going to be there, Nathaniel Rateliff
in the night Swats, Margo Price. This is amazing. So let's talk
about when tickets become available, onhow people can get in. You can
go to farmade dot org and checkout our pre sale tickets which begin tomorrow
(12:00):
at ten am Eastern time, andthe general public on sale is Saturday,
July fifteenth at ten am Eastern atLive nation dot com. Oh man,
I mean, gobble up these tickets. This is going to be an all
day event. Just a wonderful lineupof artists. They're going to be there,
Jennifer. Before I let you go, I did want to bring this
(12:20):
up because marijuana legalization has happened inso many different states across the country,
and at some point, you know, we are going to have national legalization
of marijuana. We already have hempfarms here and there. Speak a little
bit about how that industry might beaffecting the family farmer where it's legal.
(12:41):
Right. Yes, this is anew crop that farmers in some states have
had access to, and farmers werereally on the leading edge of bringing hemp
to the market, farmers in theMidwest actually, and so those represent some
new crops that farmers can get involvedwith. I think industry it's still finding
(13:01):
its footing, and it's been abit challenging, especially with the federal regulations
that make it hard to get loansfor those kinds of operations and to do
your business at a bank. Butdefinitely, you know, interesting opportunities for
farmers there. For sure. Alot of farmers are looking at new ways
(13:24):
of doing business, especially as traditionalfarms pass into the next generation. A
lot of farmers are looking at thosenew crops, are also looking at how
we do things differently. Are thereways for us to cut down on some
of our input costs by farming indifferent ways, by looking at different growing
methods, and then in particular,you know, thinking about how agriculture impacts
(13:46):
our soil and our water and ourclimate, thinking about, you know,
maybe we don't need all that feedfor our animals. Maybe we can look
into grazing. Maybe we can startdoing some direct marketing and really connect directly
with our audience of buyers and thatcreativity, that innovation, that young new
energy coming into agriculture is really exciting, and that's another thing we definitely want
(14:07):
to be highlighting this year. Ohyeah, you got to keep your eye
on the horizon because you never knowwhen a state might flipped or in a
certain election. Jennifer Fayhey is withus, the communications director for the Farm
Aid Organization. All right, sodo you have, like, do you
have memorabilia from any of these artists? Do you collect that at all?
(14:28):
Of you have photos with yourself andNeil Young? What does that look like
in the office of Jennifer Fayhey oryour home? You know, I don't
have a ton of collections. I'vebeen with Barmaid now twenty years, and
I never imagined, Just like Willieand John and Neil never thought they'd be
doing it all these years later,I never thought so either. But I
(14:50):
love my job. I work forthe most incredible people, from Willie Nelson
as my boss, to family farmersto policymakers who are interested in thinking about
these issues and doing our policy ina way that's different for our food informed
system. I guess I carry mustthem by memorabilia in my heart, But
yeah, I may I may havea photo of Willie Nelson and me on
(15:13):
my mantle at home. I betyou do. Hey, here's the question,
have you have you ever been onWillie's buss in the last twenty years?
I have been on the bus.That's the easy question. I thought
you were going to ask me theother one that I don't get to answer
in public. So well, yeah, no, I know you don't answer
that. Well, I'm going toassume you've got a contact high in Willie's
(15:35):
buss. And of course, youknow, the great Toby Keith has a
pile of songs that he calls likethe bus songs that him and his friends
just right. And he has thatlegendary song I'll never smoke weed with Willie
again. And you know what,if it's all right with you, I
might actually play that on the airfrom a Bob and Tom appearance after a
(15:56):
part of our conversation here today.Although Jennifer Fayhey has never been involved with
anything like that on the bus,but has been on Willie Nelson's bus.
Jennifer, this has been great fun. Again. Just go ahead and give
us some ticket to tales again.This is going to be farm Aide thirty
eight Ruoff Music Center September twenty third, and what are people doing to get
(16:19):
tickets? Once more? You cango to farmaid dot org and sign up
to get presale tickets starting tomorrow morningor on Saturday, July fifteenth at ten
am, you can get those ticketsat livenation dot com. You know what,
I also want to mention, thisis a full day event for the
whole family, So bring the kids, come down, plan your day.
Amazing food, incredible activities, gettingto meet your local farmers and all those
(16:45):
artists we talk about. You don'twant to miss it for sure. Cannot
wait for this event. It isgoing to be a blast in Jennifer Fayhey,
communications director for the farm Aid organization. Wow, she's been there twenty
years. More info presale info atfarmaid dot org. And as they say,
if you have the means, giveuntil it hurts, because the food
(17:07):
on your table is coming from alot of local farmers, So help out
where you can. Jennifer, Ihope you and I can catch up and
meet face to face when we getout there on September twenty third. That
would be great, Gunner. Ilook forward to it all right, I'll
look you up in Jennifer Fahey,thank you again for your time. Thank
you, see you in September.
Well, it is a great pleasureto have with us today someone who is
going to be bringing very good newsabout farm Aide joining us Farmaid's communication director.
Hello, Jennifer Fahey, Hi Gunner, how are you today? Well,
I am doing wonderful and my goodness, you know farm made number what
is going to be coming up?Well, this is our thirty eighth year
(00:24):
and yeah, in the third festivalin Indiana. We're super glad to be
back. My goodness, I meanthis is big news for us here in
Indiana farm Aide thirty eight, whichI can hardly believe at this point.
So, Jennifer, before we starttalking about, you know, a little
bit of family farms, because wewant to know about that. We have
a lot of them here in Indiana, give us some detail on what is
(00:49):
going on with Farmaide thirty eight.Well. It will be held on Saturday,
September twenty third at Ruof Music Centerin Noblesville. It is a full
day event with incredible music, homegrownfood from family farms, and hands on
interactive activities to get people engaged infood and agriculture. It is an awesome
(01:10):
day for the full family and everyonewants to start with the Music. So
it's Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp,Neil Young who all co founded Farm Maide
in nineteen eighty five nearby and ChampagneIllinois. And then we also have Dave
Matthews and Margot Price who are alsoon our board of directors. In addition,
we've got Bobby Weir and Wolf Bros. We've got Lucas Nelson, Nathaniel
(01:34):
Radliff and The Night Fliss, AlisonRussell, The String Cheese Incident and Particle
Kid. It's an incredible lineup ofreally cool bands that you don't want to
miss. Oh, we are speakingwith Jennifer Fahey, the communications director for
farm Aid. All right, youjust said all of those artists. In
my head is slightly exploding right nowbecause this is a wonderful lineup. One
(01:56):
of my wife's favorite favorite performers,Nathay Annual Rate left in the Night Swats.
I mean, we've got the rockand Roll Hall of Famers. We
got all of those guys in there, But my goodness, what a great
bill? Can you tell me?When does the music start? On September
twenty third out at Ruoff doors willopen at noon and music starts shortly thereafter,
(02:19):
and we heard actually that the curfewis a little loose there. So
normally we go to eleven o'clock atnight, it's usually an eleven hour show.
We'll probably go a little bit laterwith that extra loose curfew and with
this jam packed lineup. In addition, we have the incredible food that I
mentioned. We call it Homegrown Concessions. We source all the ingredients for the
(02:39):
menu items at Farm Aid from familyfarm sources because we care about what family
farmers are earning and we want tomake sure they get a fair price.
We guarantee they get a fair pricefor the product we buy and actually that
it's grown and raised with an ecologicalstandard. So it's going to be from
local Indiana farms, organic farms,farms using climate friendly methods to take care
(03:05):
of our soil and water. Andlet me tell you, it is the
best food you'll ever get in amusic event. You like to have some
regional specialties, so would love tohear from your listeners what we have to
make sure we have on the menuto represent Indiana. But it's incredible food
and you might end up eating yourdinner standing next to the farmer who raised
(03:27):
it. My goodness. Well,you know, let's go ahead and dive
into the issue of family farms.What is the current state of the family
farmer on a national basis. Well, it's still challenging. You know,
when Willie and John and Neil cameup with the idea for farm aid in
nineteen eighty five, they did notever imagine they'd be doing it all these
(03:47):
years later. But farming remains areally difficult occupation and lifestyle. Of course,
it's not just a job for thefolks who are out there working this
hard every day to bring us goodfood, and that's why we do what
we do, and we want toraise those issues around why it is so
hard to farm, why it's soexpensive for farmers to get on the land
(04:12):
and purchase the inputs that they needto do the farming that they do.
And then additionally, you know,they've got the challenge of weather, which
has always always existed for farmers,and now we have on top of that
these extreme weather events that we're seeingall across the country right now as a
result of increasing climate change, andthat's impacting farmers. We've got farmers facing
(04:34):
extreme flooding, drought, wildfires,extreme heat. There are a lot of
challenges out there, and it's reallynot getting easier for farmers, and yet
we need them more and more withevery day that goes by. So that's
what we're all about, celebrating thosepeople who are working so hard to bring
us good food and take care ofour soil and water, and making them
(04:55):
feel like the heroes they are.For that day, we are speaking with
farm Maaide communications director Jennifer Fayhey,and we are going to have Farm Made
thirty eight September twenty third at RuolphMusic Center. You know, now we
know, Jennifer, why John didnot book in Indianapolis show on his tour.
People in Indie were like, what, he's going to Evansville, He's
(05:19):
going to South ben what about Indianapolis. But we're going to have him right
here on September twenty third. Yeah, we're really grateful he saved that for
farm Aide And that's a great reminderto me to mention that actually all these
artists play for free, and theypay to get here and do the show
(05:40):
for family farmers. A lot ofthem, like John, have been supporting
agriculture for decades. Many of themcome from a farming background. Margot Price
had farm family in Illinois who losttheir farm during the farm crisis of the
eighties. These issues that farmers areup against are really important to these artists
and they do this show out ofthe generosity of their hearts and their pockets,
(06:03):
and we're so grateful for that.Let's go ahead and talk about some
numbers. This is going to bethe thirty eight farm Aide how much money
over the years has been raised anddispersed to family farmers. We've been able
to raise seventy million dollars and thatis dispersed to farmers and farm organizations across
(06:23):
the country. It also has enabledFarmaid to be an organization that works three
hundred and sixty five days, notjust that one festival day, but all
year. We have a farmer hotlinethat we answer and we're hearing from farmers
all over the country. Some ofthem, you know, we're calling with
major issues they're facing, and someof them are calling to say, hey,
(06:44):
I want to explore some new ideasor I want to help figure out
how I transition my farm to thenext generation. So that's really important work
that we do. We're advocating forpolicies that are good for family farmers and
for rural communities and for protecting oursoil and water. And we're doing this
education with folks to help them understandwhere their food comes from, why they
(07:04):
should care about who grows it andhow it's grown. We are speaking with
the communications director for farm Aid,Jennifer Fahey, and you heard her say
it, this is not just,you know, one event a year.
You guys are working twenty four seven. Talk a little bit about how you
know the current inflation has affected thefamily farmer and what can family farmers do
(07:28):
about that inflation. It's really hardout there right now. The costs for
agriculture have skyrocketed, so you havefarmers who are on the land who are
struggling with the costs of energy andseeds and fertilizer and feed for their animals.
And then for those folks who wantto get started in farming. A
lot of folks are re engaged inagriculture. They may not have grown up
(07:53):
on a farm, they may nothave a farm coming down being passed through
the family to them, and theywant to get on the land and the
cost of land has skyrocketed, soyou know, it's we've made a lot
of progress since FARMA it started innineteen eighty five, and yet those challenges
still remain for people to be ableto do this work and stay on the
(08:15):
land and grow the good food thatwe all need, and for new people
to get started, which we needmore and more off because you know,
fewer and fewer of us are involvedin the day to day of agriculture.
And yet obviously we all eat atleast three times a day, so we
need our farmers out there for us. And so this is our day to
really say we're behind you, wesupport you, and we want to make
(08:39):
sure you can keep doing what youdo best. And again it's going to
be Farm Made thirty eight right herein Indianapolis or Noblesville at Ruolph Music Center.
Some of you may still call itDeer Creek. The date is going
to be September twenty third, soyou know we're talking about family farms.
Did you guys also work with veterans, which I think is amazing because there
(09:03):
is therapy in working with your hands, working the land. Talk about how
you guys have partnered and help outveterans. Absolutely more people have realized that
agriculture I actually work with one farmerwho calls it agras therapy. He's a
veteran who was really struggling with hismental health. His father introduced him to
(09:24):
a friend of his who was ranchingin Florida, and this farmer came home
and said, that's what I've gotto do. This was the way that
I could reconnect with what makes mefeel good and what makes me happy.
So he brings veterans onto his farmnow to introduce them to that. It's
absolutely critical, and there are somany veteran farmers out there who are doing
(09:45):
this incredible work healing their traumas thatthey've received through their service for our country
and also healing the soil in theland and bringing good food to all of
us. So, yeah, that'sthat's a pretty incredible ship that we've begin
to se begun to see in agricultures, farmers coming or sorry, veterans coming
back and becoming farmers. Farmaid supportsthe number of organizations that are helping to
(10:07):
train farmer veterans and support the greatwork that they do. We are speaking
with Jennifer Fahey, the communications directorfor farmaide Hey. If there are farmers
or veterans that are looking for moreinformation and they haven't yet reached out.
What is a good way for thosefolks to get in touch with the Farmaid
(10:28):
organization. You can go onto ourwebsite farmaid dot org. We have our
Farmer Resource Network there right at thetop. It will give you the phone
number one eight hundred FARMAIDE so youcan connect with a person and speak to
them. We have an incredible teamof operators on our hotline, all of
whom have agricultural experience. When farmerscall, they want to talk to someone
(10:50):
who understands agriculture, and we havethat own our hotline. We can connect
folks to resources to help them getinvolved in a culture or connect in the
various ways they're already connected a littlemore deep and that Farmer Resource Network also
you can enter your information, saywhat state you're in, say what kind
(11:11):
of resources you're looking for, andit will bring you up a lift of
resources that can help you. Anothergreat organization we partner with is called the
Farmer Veteran Coalition and I highly recommendthem their national They do amazing work with
veterans all over the country and it'sa great place to get started. Jennifer
fayhe is with us communications director forthe Farmaid Organization. We are going to
(11:35):
have Farmaide thirty eight, Willie,John Mellencamp, Neil Young, so many
more, Dave Matthews, Bobby Whereis going to be there, Nathaniel Rateliff
in the night Swats, Margo Price. This is amazing. So let's talk
about when tickets become available, onhow people can get in. You can
go to farmade dot org and checkout our pre sale tickets which begin tomorrow
(12:00):
at ten am Eastern time, andthe general public on sale is Saturday,
July fifteenth at ten am Eastern atLive nation dot com. Oh man,
I mean, gobble up these tickets. This is going to be an all
day event. Just a wonderful lineupof artists. They're going to be there,
Jennifer. Before I let you go, I did want to bring this
(12:20):
up because marijuana legalization has happened inso many different states across the country,
and at some point, you know, we are going to have national legalization
of marijuana. We already have hempfarms here and there. Speak a little
bit about how that industry might beaffecting the family farmer where it's legal.
(12:41):
Right. Yes, this is anew crop that farmers in some states have
had access to, and farmers werereally on the leading edge of bringing hemp
to the market, farmers in theMidwest actually, and so those represent some
new crops that farmers can get involvedwith. I think industry it's still finding
(13:01):
its footing, and it's been abit challenging, especially with the federal regulations
that make it hard to get loansfor those kinds of operations and to do
your business at a bank. Butdefinitely, you know, interesting opportunities for
farmers there. For sure. Alot of farmers are looking at new ways
(13:24):
of doing business, especially as traditionalfarms pass into the next generation. A
lot of farmers are looking at thosenew crops, are also looking at how
we do things differently. Are thereways for us to cut down on some
of our input costs by farming indifferent ways, by looking at different growing
methods, and then in particular,you know, thinking about how agriculture impacts
(13:46):
our soil and our water and ourclimate, thinking about, you know,
maybe we don't need all that feedfor our animals. Maybe we can look
into grazing. Maybe we can startdoing some direct marketing and really connect directly
with our audience of buyers and thatcreativity, that innovation, that young new
energy coming into agriculture is really exciting, and that's another thing we definitely want
(14:07):
to be highlighting this year. Ohyeah, you got to keep your eye
on the horizon because you never knowwhen a state might flipped or in a
certain election. Jennifer Fayhey is withus, the communications director for the Farm
Aid Organization. All right, sodo you have, like, do you
have memorabilia from any of these artists? Do you collect that at all?
(14:28):
Of you have photos with yourself andNeil Young? What does that look like
in the office of Jennifer Fayhey oryour home? You know, I don't
have a ton of collections. I'vebeen with Barmaid now twenty years, and
I never imagined, Just like Willieand John and Neil never thought they'd be
doing it all these years later,I never thought so either. But I
(14:50):
love my job. I work forthe most incredible people, from Willie Nelson
as my boss, to family farmersto policymakers who are interested in thinking about
these issues and doing our policy ina way that's different for our food informed
system. I guess I carry mustthem by memorabilia in my heart, But
yeah, I may I may havea photo of Willie Nelson and me on
(15:13):
my mantle at home. I betyou do. Hey, here's the question,
have you have you ever been onWillie's buss in the last twenty years?
I have been on the bus.That's the easy question. I thought
you were going to ask me theother one that I don't get to answer
in public. So well, yeah, no, I know you don't answer
that. Well, I'm going toassume you've got a contact high in Willie's
(15:35):
buss. And of course, youknow, the great Toby Keith has a
pile of songs that he calls likethe bus songs that him and his friends
just right. And he has thatlegendary song I'll never smoke weed with Willie
again. And you know what,if it's all right with you, I
might actually play that on the airfrom a Bob and Tom appearance after a
(15:56):
part of our conversation here today.Although Jennifer Fayhey has never been involved with
anything like that on the bus,but has been on Willie Nelson's bus.
Jennifer, this has been great fun. Again. Just go ahead and give
us some ticket to tales again.This is going to be farm Aide thirty
eight Ruoff Music Center September twenty third, and what are people doing to get
(16:19):
tickets? Once more? You cango to farmaid dot org and sign up
to get presale tickets starting tomorrow morningor on Saturday, July fifteenth at ten
am, you can get those ticketsat livenation dot com. You know what,
I also want to mention, thisis a full day event for the
whole family, So bring the kids, come down, plan your day.
Amazing food, incredible activities, gettingto meet your local farmers and all those
(16:45):
artists we talk about. You don'twant to miss it for sure. Cannot
wait for this event. It isgoing to be a blast in Jennifer Fayhey,
communications director for the farm Aid organization. Wow, she's been there twenty
years. More info presale info atfarmaid dot org. And as they say,
if you have the means, giveuntil it hurts, because the food
(17:07):
on your table is coming from alot of local farmers, So help out
where you can. Jennifer, Ihope you and I can catch up and
meet face to face when we getout there on September twenty third. That
would be great, Gunner. Ilook forward to it all right, I'll
look you up in Jennifer Fahey,thank you again for your time. Thank
you, see you in September.
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