Farm Aid returns to its roots

The organization has raised millions over the years.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- The seeds of Farm Aid were planted here in 1985 when Bob Dylan, performing in the Live Aid benefit for Africa, said something should be done to help American farmers.
Twenty-one years later, Farm Aid is returning to the region to hold its 19th fundraising concert Sept. 30 at the Tweeter Center in Camden, N.J.
Musician Neil Young, one of the organization's founders, announced the date Thursday at Reading Terminal Market, a downtown Philadelphia landmark known for its fresh produce.
Young, who grew up in small town in Canada surrounded by farms, said it seems like the problems faced by family farms get "swept under the rug."
"It is unfortunate that we have to continue doing this," Young said. "I really hope that we don't have to do Farm Aid forever."
Goals
Farm Aid's goals include supporting family farms, fighting corporate agriculture, advocating fair prices and encouraging people to buy food grown locally. The organization has raised more than $29 million over two decades, officials said.
Farm Aid benefit concerts -- performed annually since 1985 except for three years -- have been held in a dozen states. The Philadelphia region is the second place in the Northeast to host one; two were held in the Washington, D.C., area in 1999 and 2000.
Organizers said the location makes sense because half the land in Pennsylvania and New Jersey is used for agriculture, and the area boasts more than 200 farmers' markets.
The Farm Aid 2006 lineup includes Young and his Farm Aid co-founders, Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp. Dave Matthews, who joined the Boston-based organization's board of directors in 2001, will also perform.
Other acts will be announced in the coming weeks. Tickets go on sale July 22.
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