“Family farmers grow our food and strengthen our communities. And when farmers struggle like they are now, communities feel it too. We’re standing with them to grow a food system that works for everyone.”
— Willie Nelson, Farm Aid President
You probably know by now that we take our Farm Aid festival on the road each year to highlight the vital role that family farmers play in communities across our nation—growing good food, strengthening local economies and helping to sustain the places we call home. We’ve been doing it for forty years and making a real difference in the places we go. But this year, family farmers are facing some of the most serious threats to their livelihoods since the 1980s Farm Crisis. So, it’s time for us to gather again to raise our voices and do something about it.
I’m happy to share the news that Farm Aid 2026 will take place at Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater in Virginia Beach on Saturday, September 26. Virginia has welcomed Farm Aid three times before, and this is the first Farm Aid festival in the “Hampton Roads” region of the state. We’re excited to celebrate the rich cultural history of the farmers and fishers that feed the coastal communities there.
Family farmers in Virginia are facing the same challenges as farmers around the country, including the downturn in the economy, farm and trade policy uncertainty and the effects of corporate consolidation. And as in many other places, farmers in Virginia are also especially vulnerable to volatile weather, sea level rise, and competing interests for land use from development and data centers. All these conditions harm both farmers and their communities since farmers and communities are so closely linked.
Farmers have always had to contend with the uncertainty of their crops or herds surviving and thriving through harvest, but there’s only so much they’re able to withstand. Earlier this year the American Farm Bureau Federation released a report that confirmed the new farm crisis that many farmers and agriculture experts had been predicting.
The report found that Chapter 12 family farm bankruptcies surged by 46% in 2025, marking the second consecutive year of increased farm losses, particularly in the Midwest and the Southeast. High production costs and years of declining commodity prices, high interest rates coupled with inflation, fluctuating tariffs and damaging trade policies along with drastic cuts to federal farm programs are all driving extreme financial distress.
Your support of family farmers and ranchers—especially now—is essential so that they can stay on the land to grow the good food we all need. Please stand with me to show them you know how important they are to all of us. A gift in any amount makes a real difference, for all of us!
This September in Virginia, we’ll do once again what Farm Aid does best: bring together farmers, fishers, ranchers, farmworkers, advocates and movement leaders from across the country to talk about the challenges family farmers face. Together, we’ll move forward with a shared vision for the future of agriculture, land, food and rural America.
Every day, Farm Aid works to build an agricultural system that values family farmers, good food, healthy soil and water, and strong rural communities. We can’t do this work alone. It takes all of us—growers and eaters, singers and shouters—coming together to make some good noise to change a system that’s stacked against us.
A gift to Farm Aid allows us to keep family farmers on the land where they belong, and to connect them to the resources they—and all our communities—need to thrive. As thanks for your generous donation of $100 or more, we’ll send you an official Farm Aid 2026 T-shirt in the size of your choice so that you can proudly show your meaningful support!
With your support, Farm Aid will continue to be here for family farmers, connecting them with the resources they need to thrive, including long-term solutions that strengthen them and our farm and food system as a whole. We’ll provide emergency assistance when disasters strike and advocate for fair policies that promote sustainability, equity, resiliency, access and diversity across our food system. And we’ll celebrate them and all the ways they bring good food, health and joy to our lives.
We hope that you’ll join us in Virginia Beach for Farm Aid 2026 or by tuning in to watch or listen from home. Your support is so important, and I want to thank you for standing with me to show our family farmers how important they are by donating right now.
Stay Strong and Positive,
President, Farm Aid
