It’s been one month since Farm Aid 2026, but the spirit of the festival carries on. From the performances on stage to the conversations that happened across the venue and throughout the entire week, the Farm Aid festival is a reminder of what we can accomplish when we come together in support of family farmers.
Thank you to everyone who joined us both in Virginia Beach and virtually from around the world. Below are some of the numbers that capture the excitement and impact of this year’s festival.
© Scott Streble
14,000 attendees
Festivalgoers represented all 50 states, including Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, five Canadian provinces and 19 countries all together.
© Brian Bruner
18 artists
Farm Aid artists donate their performances in support of family farmers and family farm food.
© Laurie Bonneau
8.05 million CNN viewers
Fans tuned in across the U.S. and the world to the Farm Aid 2026 broadcast on CNN’s global platforms.
© Brian Bruner
3.1 million virtual viewers
Over 3 million people watched our YouTube livestream. There were 194 virtual Farm Aid 2026 watch parties across 31 states.
3,300 news stories
From Billboard to Rolling Stone, news and broadcast outlets across the country shared stories about Farm Aid, the festival and family farmers.
© Carolina Reid
10,000 pounds of food donated
With the help of Support+Feed, festivalgoers donated nonperishable goods to the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore.
© Lise Metzger
3,995 decor items sourced from local farms
Six Virginia farmers provided thousands of flowers, hundreds of corn shocks, pumpkins, gourds and hay bales to decorate the venue. And one beautiful tractor!
© Scott Streble
426 farmers and advocates engaged
Farmers and advocates came together for our pre-festival events, trainings and farm tours to discuss challenges and opportunities family farmers face.
© Laurie Bonneau
418 volunteers
Volunteers from 33 states set up, welcomed festivalgoers, chopped vegetables, helped compost food waste and so much more to make the day run smoothly.
© Laurie Bonneau
71 HOMEGROWN Concessions® items
We highlight foods from the festival region and source from local farms, co-ops, food hubs and small businesses. This year’s menu featured Virginia peanuts, Chesapeake poutine with hand-picked blue crab, local cheeses and more.
© Lize Metzger
12 HOMEGROWN Youthmarket participants
Young people from FFA, 4-H and Petersburg Is Growing staffed the HOMEGROWN Youthmarket. Festivalgoers learned about the work they do in their communities and got to taste fresh fruits, vegetables and baked goods from local farms.
© Laurie Bonneau
20 merch items
Merch items were sold at the festival and in our online store. Three organic cotton farmers from Texas were on-site to talk with festivalgoers about how the cotton in the Farm Aid 2026 t-shirts was grown!
Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger at Farm Aid 2026 © Laurie Bonneau
12 policymakers
Policymakers from Virginia spoke with farmers, learned about their challenges and strategized about how they can support family farm agriculture in their work.
© Brian Bruner
Seven Virginia farmers featured on stage for the press event
Before the music begins, artists and farmers came together on stage to share their stories and their visions for agriculture.
© Lise Metzger
45 HOMEGROWN Village exhibitors
Exhibitors engaged festivalgoers in hands-on activities focusing on soil, water, energy and food.
© Lise Metzger
Five farmers heard on the FarmYard stage
Farmers and artists discuss pressing issues and share inspiring stories showcasing food and farming in the region and across the country. One was recorded for Against the Grain: The Farm Aid Podcast, featuring farmers and artist Jesse Welles.
© Lise Metzger
Four Skills Tent demonstrations
Presenters at the Skills Tent covered topics on restoring soil with cover crops, making homegrown salsa, processing wool and growing mushrooms at home. We also had one successful seed swap.
© Raymond Hagans
Six performances at the Farm Aid Family Reunion concert
We kicked off the weekend with our Farm Aid Family Reunion concert, which brought together artists and farmers for a night of music and storytelling.
© Lori Golding
One Farm Aid mural
A Farm Aid mural was painted in Virginia Beach’s VIBE District, right across from the Old Beach Farmer’s Market!
© Laurie Bonneau
Zero-waste event
Working with Tidewater Compost, we diverted over 12,000 pounds of organic materials from landfills to sustain future crops in Virginia.
