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CNN Live Event/Special
Farm Aid Concert Live. Aired 7-8p ET
Aired September 20, 2025 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:00]
JOHN BOYD JR., FOUNDER & PRESIDENT, NATIONAL BLACK FARMERS ASSOCIATION: -- in the wrong direction of this administration.
SANCHEZ: John Boy Junior, thank you so much for the time and for sharing your perspective. Appreciate you.
BOYD: Thank you so much for having me.
SANCHEZ: So in just moments, we are going to see a huge concert event. You're talking about John Mellencamp, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, all sorts of stars hitting the stage. "FARM AID 40" hosted by Laura Coates and John Berman starts right now.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Tonight, an event decades in the making. The 40th anniversary of Farm Aid.
You're looking at pictures of Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where thousands of people are ready to raise their voices along some of the biggest names in music, all in support of America's farmers.
Good evening. I'm John Berman.
LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Laura Coates.
BERMAN: That's fantastic.
COATES: And you're watching Farm Aid Concert live, a CNN special event. And tonight we'll see a tapestry of generations bonded together by a vision for a better world.
It's a tour through musical royalty. The three original founders of Farm Aid, all legends. I'm talking Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Neil Young, as well as Dave Matthews, Margo Price and a very special guest, a Minnesota native himself, none other than Bob Dylan.
BERMAN: All of these artists united by a cause. The men and women who sweat every day to put good food on your table.
So it was 40 years ago that one question from Bob Dylan gave birth to a dream. Wouldn't it be great if we did something for our own farmers right here in America? That first concert raised $7 million, and since then, 80 million more dollars have gone into Farm Aid and back out into the farm communities. COATES: It's a really important night. There have been many. This is
number 40. And this one promises to be a great concert and CNN's Bill Weir is in the thick of it.
Bill, you're down there. The music is all around you. The excitement, you can taste, you can feel it, can't you?
BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: I can feel it, Laura Coates. You Golden Gopher you. Welcome home to Minnesota. Behind me, Billy Strings.
COATES: Yes.
WEIR: Probably the best. One of the best bluegrass musicians ever to come out of Michigan. Amazing story. His father died of a heroin overdose when he was two. His stepfather, an accomplished bluegrass musician. And you're hearing the results. You're going to hear a number from him hopefully coming up in the show. But it has been an incredible afternoon.
We had Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats, an amazing set by Trampled by Turtles out of Duluth, Minnesota. Nice and bluegrass. But we got the big ones coming up. You know, Bob Dylan, Jesse Welles who may be the Bob Dylan of today coming up on Instagram. We heard him do kind of a pointed political set, but Farm Aid is about healing. It's about community. It's about people who know the land, work the land, especially those small farm -- family farms that grow the diversity of different berries and lettuces that you find at your farm stand.
And they're struggling these days. I mean, the headaches of '85 have only been compounded in the age of trade wars and immigration raids. You might hear about some of that from Margo Price and some of the other acts tonight, but really it's less about politics tonight. It's a break from that. It's about good American music, people looking out for each other. Neighbors dancing in the aisles, hopefully. So I can't wait to see what comes tonight.
This is such a thrill for me. My fourth Willie Nelson concert.
BERMAN: You got your merch. You got your Willie Nelson T-shirt. I'm sporting my Farm Aid shirt right here. There's merch everywhere. There's great food everywhere.
Bill, we'll get back to you down there. You've got really the best seat in the house. You get to roam everywhere. Such a fun atmosphere.
So today's lineup really is just a tour de force, including one of music's biggest stars. There is no one else on earth like him, and he's been sitting up here with us, beside us, like, practically co- anchoring with us here as we've been getting ready to go on TV.
Dave Matthews.
DAVE MATTHEWS, FARM AID BOARD MEMBER: Hello. Thank you. I'm just -- you know I'm pretending to say hello. We've already said hello, but this is show business. So we're acting like we just. But I've been here for, like, 45 minutes, and -- but I'm glad you guys are -- the show that you're airing this. It's really good of you guys to get this out there as a good -- I'm really grateful to have been part of it and have joined this team.
I would like to be facing the other way and listening to Billy Strings rip it down the hill there, but I'm happy to be here and promote this thing for you and more awareness about the family farmers who are in dire straits again.
[19:05:04]
It seemed to be getting into deeper straits, you know, up against the sort of the corporate agribusiness and which is really -- which is really sort of like, I was calling it earlier. It's like a death cult because it produces food as it -- as cheaply as it possibly can. And it destroys the soil it grows it in or it destroys the areas with factory farms with the sort of putrid waste that comes out of them.
And then you have all these people that are working with the land and that's who we're trying to support. These farmers that are really trying to do the earth's work and then feed us at the same time. And it's just -- it's a very different view of the world. And, you know, I think there about life and sustaining it and then feeding us at the same time. And then there's this other force that is all profit driven. And we have to see something more than financial profit in our food system, just like in everything else or else, you know, it's sort of like, it's a dead end street.
And I feel, and I feel like Farm Aid is giving a voice to those people, but also giving a voice to the things that are right about people and the things that we have in common. Our leaders very often spend so much time separating us and saying they're the problem. They're the problem. But really, if you just look at it, we clean the slate. The real problem is the greed and the cruelty that dominates so much of our lives.
And the -- and everywhere profit is the top, the top priority. You see damage done to the community and damage done to the people that are there and to the planet. It's just a sort of dead end street. And I'm really excited that you guys came and aired this, and now I'm going to stop talking because you have no more questions.
COATES: No, you know what? I got to tell you that when I -- the words family farms cannot be overstated or over spoken enough during Farm Aid because people often lose sight of that. And the idea that these are communities of families all together providing for our entire nation, exporting also overseas as well. I mean, you come from a family of farmers as well. That's why it hits so personal.
MATTHEWS: Yes. Well, you know, I, you know, I had an uncle that farmed and grandmother, it's a bit of a stretch, but I -- I had an uncle that that's how he made his living and he did quite well. So good for him. But he's a thing of the past now. But his farm is still there, but I do think that there are a lot of challenges facing, you know, now with tariffs facing both small farmers and big farmers.
BERMAN: Yes.
MATTHEWS: The problem with the -- with these big corporate farming machines is that they can survive it because they have shareholders and owners and so they can survive this sort of thing. It's the small farmers that are -- and sometimes, you know, when you look at it sort of, when you look at the situation, it feels intentional. It feels like they're under attack because the farm subsidies that you dream about, you know, going to the small farmers, all those farm subsidies, almost entirely go to the giant agribusiness.
And it's just a -- it's just a misuse of the resources, and the problem, you know, obviously, if you employ families to feed us, there's not a big profit. So as often as the sort of the corporate farming model, the factory farming model, as long as that's there, it's going to attempt to lessen, lessen the amount of people that are -- that are doing the farming.
BERMAN: Yes. Look --
MATTHEWS: So you also lose labor, you know.
BERMAN: You know, I was reading, the American Farm Bureau has said that farm bankruptcies are up 55 percent last year. So this is a tough moment. Your first Farm Aid was 30 years ago, right? You know, first of all, I love the fact that you keep on turning over your shoulder because you so desperately want to see Billy Strings.
MATTHEWS: Yes.
BERMAN: I know the music is what's so great here. What was that like when you walked on that stage in 1995 with these, you know, you're a legend, but in 1995, I mean, these guys.
MATTHEWS: They're coming up. Yes. I mean, I love Willie Nelson. I love his politics. And I love his music. And Mellencamp was -- came right in with Willie. He was like, they were like partners. And Neil as well. I've listened to Neil since my brother played him for me when I was a kid. So it really was a remarkable experience to be invited. So it was, you know, half of it was -- half of it was our belief in the little guy and supporting that because that's where the future is.
And you know, the big guy, that's where the future isn't but -- so but the excitement of being able to play with them and see them up close was pretty amazing. It was really -- they're all such great people. And they mean it, you know, that's why they're still -- they're still here, you know.
[19:10:01]
COATES: You know, over the last now 40 years, you're talking about anyone from Willie Nelson, Dave Matthews, John Denver, Rick James, I mean, the spectrum, the scope of performers who were dedicated and care and want to be here and supporting it, it's truly incredible to always be a part of it and see the different iterations.
Tell me about what it's like when you're watching certain performers. Who are you most looking forward to hearing? Who do you remember the most, and think, wow, that was a moment?
MATTHEWS: Well, you know, so, I mean, well, Billy is one that I'm really excited --
COATES: The one that you know --
(CROSSTALK)
MATTHEWS: But, you know, Kenny, Kenny Chesney is a -- he's a good friend of mine. So we're just hanging backstage. So he's -- I'm excited for him. Margo and I have become friends. And she's an incredible artist. Today, I mean, and then there's the -- all the -- there's three founders that I'll stay for, and -- but today there was, you know, like you said, Jesse Welles is unbelievable. And he's just such a new voice, a young voice for a generation and how he addresses things with a really focused lovely, but thoughtful intellectual way he approaches his songwriting and it's really clear. He's just remarkable. So he was -- people should check out Jesse Welles and Trampled by Turtles.
BERMAN: They are so good. Hot.
MATTHEWS: Nathaniel, a great friend of mine. And I just think the joy that he brings so, you know, this is a great lineup. Again, it's, from the beginning to the end. It's a really -- it's really wonderful how many people come out for this, you know, and, you know, I, you know, and then if everything turns around and farmers are taken care of in the next year, and we learn how to, you know, how to treat our people in this country, then we won't need to have a 41st Farm Aid. But it doesn't seem that likely, you know.
BERMAN: Right.
MATTHEWS: And so we have to fight -- we have to fight for the rights of working people and a good many of those are working farmers, and know that we're all in this together except for a select few. And we need to get them out of the terrain.
BERMAN: Dave Matthews, it's been so great to sit here with you and just --
COATES: I know.
BERMAN: And just talk back and forth for the last, you know, half an hour as we've been sitting here.
COATES: For TV time, just for a minute. We just met three minutes ago.
BERMAN: I know. But now we're best friends and he's going to go. He's got to do a set still.
COATES: Yes.
BERMAN: He's going to go up there and it's not hot at all. You won't sweat on either side.
MATTHEWS: I'll sweat. I always sweat.
COATES: Make us sweat.
BERMAN: Dave Matthews, it's great to see you. Thanks so much for coming on.
MATTHEWS: Thanks for having me. Thanks for being here. And thanks for televising this. And get some Billy Strings on there.
COATES: Yes. Look, it's been an incredible -- first of all, first of all, anyone who doubts Minnesota weather, look behind us, people. Thank you very much. It's wonderful. But if you love music, do not change that channel. We've got so much ahead. True legends are yet to hit the stage. Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson and more. Plus, when you get back, Wynonna Judd performs her 1992 hit, "No One Else on Earth."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:16:55]
COATES: Oh, my god, the excitement is building here in Minneapolis. We've got beautiful weather, beautiful people, a beautiful performance after another and another and moments away from our first musical performance. She is one of the most beloved voices in the country music community, and a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame. Here is Wynonna Judd with her hit song "No One Else on Earth."
(WYNONNA JUDD PERFORMS "NO ONE ELSE ON EARTH")
[19:21:08]
WYNONNA JUDD, "NO ONE ELSE ON EARTH": Good-bye, everybody. Did we have fun or what?
BERMAN: What an incredible performance from Wynonna Judd. What was the word you used to describe her?
COATES: Well, I said badass.
BERMAN: You said that --
COATES: And it's right.
BERMAN: That's what Laura Coates said while Wynonna Judd was singing, but what you didn't hear was Laura Coates singing along, which was fantastic.
COATES: Well, I mean, look, I don't have any pitch or all that stuff, but I have heart, and I love to sing along. So if he all of a sudden takes his headset off, you'll know exactly what has happened. I have been singing the entire night.
BERMAN: It was a great duet with Laura Coates and Wynonna Judd.
Now she was just one of the many artists making up this fantastic lineup, marking 40 years of Farm Aid. The very first Farm Aid really happened in a blink, and it was Bob Dylan who lit the spark and weeks later, what seemed like a wish and a prayer came together.
Bill Weir back with us to page through the past -- Bill.
WEIR: You know, John, I know we're sort of Gen X, right? We're fellow of the same generation. For us, at least for me, Live Aid was my Woodstock. I lived with a very strict evangelical mother who didn't allow rock and roll or TV, so I had to sneak out of the house to a friend's house who had MTV and watch that concert all day, from London to Philly when about 10:35 at night, on that Live Aid night, Bob Dylan took the stage, flanked by a couple of Rolling Stones, and made this offhand comment about the farmers of America. And who knew that 40 years later, we'd still be at it. Here's a little history lesson for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WEIR (voice-over): It was 1985, and compassion was cool. Images of African famine were enough to inspire Band Aid.
(MUSIC)
WEIR: And USA for Africa, and a by continental mega-concert.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please welcome, America, to Live Aid Day.
WEIR: And when Bob Dylan took the Philadelphia stage around 10:30, flanked by a couple of Rolling Stones, he would spark yet another charity benefit.
BOB DYLAN, MUSICIAN: I hope that some of the money --
WEIR: With a simple shout-out for the folks who grow the food that ends famine.
DYLAN: Is it safe to pay the mortgages on some of the farms and the farmers here owed to the banks?
WEIR: Watching on his tour bus at night was a former cotton and corn picker named Willie Nelson, who said it hit him like a ton of bricks because at '85 crop prices were crashing and the heartland was setting new records for farm foreclosures and suicides.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because as simple man, we end up paying all those bills and thrills that kill us here in America.
WEIR: So Willie deputized fellow voices of blue collar conscience John Cougar Mellencamp and Neil Young.
(MUSIC)
WEIR: He got the governor of Illinois to help secure the football stadium in Champaign.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the site for our Farm Aid, a concert for America.
WEIR: And just 10 weeks after Dylan's offhand comment at Live Aid --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bob Dylan.
WEIR: A parade of hall of famers showed up to spread some love for rural America.
(MUSIC)
WEIR: And together, they raised the modern equivalent of over $20 million that day.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe the small family farmer to be the backbone of our country. They need our help.
[19:25:01]
WEIR: The following decades would bring millions more and country music by the bushel.
(MUSIC)
WEIR: But Farm Aid was always inclusive enough for both patriots, a protest bands.
(MUSIC)
WEIR: A tent big enough for everyone from George Jones to Rick James.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To your left hand is that old, wrinkled face of (EXPLETIVE DELETED) Ronald Reagan. Now take your right hand and smack the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) out of him.
WEIR: The politics of agriculture even more contentious today with immigration raids and trade wars and an overheating climate, when it seems like the rains either never come or they bring too much water at once.
(MUSIC)
WEIR (voice-over): Dave Matthews, a climate activist, leader in eco- conscious touring, joined the Farm Aid Board in 2001. And Margo Price brings the POV of a woman reared on a foreclosed farm.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you don't know what a factory farm is let me give you a picture. 50,000 hogs stuck in buildings on a 35-acre farm.
WEIR: But over 40 years later, Farm Aid's founding fathers remain focused on the families trying to build healthy, sustainable food chains and the massive forces they are up against.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can't put all of that in one place without destroying nature and the natural forces that keep us here.
WILLIE NELSON, MUSICIAN: As long as there's one family farmer out there who wants to stay on the land, we'll be here.
(MUSIC)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WEIR (on-camera): Willie, of course, famously sings "Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die." We hope that doesn't happen for another 50 years on. 92-year-old patriarch of country music pride of Abbott, Texas, will hit the stage late tonight. So, guys, buckle up. This is a marathon, not a sprint, John Berman, Laura Coates.
COATES: All right, well, we're running, I can't wait. I want to bring in DeAnthony and Denise. They are multi-generational farmers who grow, well, almost anything you see at your farmers' market, frankly.
Glad that you're both here. This is your third Farm Aid. I know you guys are lifelong fans already about this. I want to turn to you, DeAnthony, because you come from a long line of farmers. What is Farm Aid meant to your family?
DEANTHONY JAMERSON, 6TH GENERATION FARMER, LEGACY TASTE OF THE GARDEN: It's a lot. It means a lot to us. For me, being part of the younger generation, I wasn't really familiar with Farm Aid when they approached us. And it was really for my grandfather that they were looking to honor him when they came to Indiana. So when we came and me and my mom got to experience and sit in for him, it was -- it just -- it allowed us to see the importance of farmers and that we are important doing what we're doing.
And we was able to champion for my grandpa as he went through this struggle all these years, you know. So it was -- it was huge for us.
BERMAN: Yes, I got to say, I think the key word you used there is family. And that's what I keep hearing from everyone out there tonight. We're here. We are a family and we're here for the family farms. You said this was your third Farm Aid. What's it been like connecting with other farmers here?
DENISE JAMERSON, 5TH GENERATION FARMER, LEGACY TASTE OF THE GARDEN: It's totally awesome. It is like they say, it's family. It's all about family. And, you know, being at Farm Aid we just feel appreciated. You know, for the farmers to come out, we really feel appreciated by Farm Aid and what they do. And that means so much. That gives us so Much energy to keep doing what we're doing. And like DeAnthony said, know that we are important and that what we're doing means a lot to the United States, to everybody.
COATES: I'm appreciating, I've got heartburn. I've eaten everything in this place. Local farms. I'm doing this all of a sudden I got the good farmers heartburn. Tell you right now. Let me ask you this. You've had your grandfather. Your farm has been in your family since the Civil War. Obviously a lot has changed. But how about the challenges to farmers now?
DEANTHONY JAMERSON: There's a lot of challenges going on right now for farmers. And I think the farmers' story is always going to be about being resilient. So whatever challenges that are in front of us, we're going to find ways to get around them, whether it's land access, whether it's, you know, market, whatever that looks like, we're going to be able to get around that just through our resilience and wanting to keep going forward and seeing that from the people that was in front of us doing it. You know, and seeing how they continue on to march forward. So that's just the name of the game for us, I think.
BERMAN: Yes. You overcome so much, right? You work so hard every day. It's so great to be able to come here and see you smile like this and all the music. Have you had a favorite moment the last three years, including tonight?
[19:30:05]
JAMERSON: I think it was being the rock stars.
LAURA COATES, CNN CHIEF LEGAL ANALYST AND ANCHOR OF "LAURA COATES LIVE": Oh.
D. JAMERSON: When they approached us, they were like, we the farmers are the rock stars. It's not the singers and just like I said, being appreciated and being the rock stars, it's awesome. It's totally awesome. It makes it worth it. Like you said, we came for my dad. My dad can't come, but he deserves all this from everything from '85. He was one, we've lost land, you know, he's been through everything and like we were saying, it's hard for the rural people to get access or even know that there's stuff out there.
So to be able to connect with some organization that cares, an organization that really appreciates what we do and fight for us, it's everything.
COATES: It looks like you've lost land to have to know what it's like for so many farmers watching who are facing that struggle, and that there is a whole world rooting for you, that's got to feel good.
D. JAMERSON: It does and advocate for us, it does.
BERMAN: DeAnthony and Denise thank you so much. You are rock stars for us tonight. We're so lucky to be able to sit here with you tonight. Thank you for everything you do.
COATES: I need a hat though. I want to look as cool as them. I want that hat.
BERMAN: I know.
DENISE JAMERSON: You got to go get one at Farm Aid.
COATES: I need to get a Farm Aid hat. Okay, fine. Don't show us up though.
DEANTHONY JAMERSON, 6TH GENERATION FARMER, LEGACY TASTE OF GARDEN: Like I said hey, once you drink the Kool-Aid, you're going to be a part of it for a while now.
COATES: All right.
DEANTHONY JAMERSON: Join the family.
COATES: All right. Well, family reunion time.
BERMAN: Family reunion, I appreciate it. Thanks for inviting us.
DEANTHONY JAMERSON: Thanks for having us.
DENISE JAMERSON: Thank you, Farm Aid. Farm Aid.
COATES: Wow. As much as tonight is about the music and the rock stars that are the farmers, tonight is really about raising money to provide family farmers across this entire country with the help and the resources they need.
So to donate, you can scan the Q.R. code at the bottom of your screen. You can text farm aid to 70-70-70. That's even easier, right?
BERMAN: It is. It is.
COATES: Give me your wallet.
BERMAN: It is fine-- listen, but scan that code. Give what you can. The farmers, they need it. Here in Minneapolis, the party is just getting started and what a party it is. We're counting down the performances by some of the biggest names in music, including Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Bob Dylan. But first, Nathaniel Rateliff will join us live as he performs his hit "S.O.B." You don't want to miss it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:36:20]
BERMAN: We are right in the middle of Farm Aid rocking here in Minneapolis. There is so much more to come, including the legendary Willie Nelson.
Now, our next act was anointed by a Led Zeppelin legend, Robert Plant, to carry the torch for singer songwriters. And boy, you can tell why his fourth full-length album, south of here, released last year, this is Nathaniel Rateliff and the night sweats, performing S.O.B.
(NATHANIEL RATELIFF AND THE NIGHT SWEATS PERFORMING "S.O.B.")
[19:41:47]
COATES: That's right, that was from his set earlier today. I think, "Damn Minneapolis!" is right. We loved him here, but he is here right now with us.
Nathaniel Rateliff, thank you so much for being here this evening. This crowd, they love you. It's not hard to see why. It's your ninth time. Why do you keep coming back?
NATHANIEL RATELIFF, AMERICAN SINGER-SONGWRITER: Well, you know, I feel like every year I come back, I have an opportunity to learn and educate myself about what's happening to local farmers in that area. And I'm privileged enough to tour around the country and around the world, and to be embedded in parts of the community and learn about culture locally.
Locally, but on a larger scale so globally and, you know, there's change happening everywhere. And small things have huge impacts on us. And, you know, growing up in Rural Missouri and then moving to Colorado, you know, I grew up in a place with lots of agriculture, but there's still food disparity there in the same way there are as in urban areas.
And so, it's interesting over the years to learn here, but then also see it in my personal life how people don't have access to good food even if they're surrounded by agriculture.
COATES: Yes.
RATELIFF: And so, you know, in the West where i live, you know, we have forest fires becoming a huge issue. Water is going to become a huge issue. You know, we're in the land of lakes right now, but you, not all of us have that much fresh water as we continue to move West.
So, you know, what are the solutions to that or who's having conversations about that? And, you know, even I sat on a panel today and that's something I get the opportunity to do every year, and the Farm Aid folks, they stick me or another artist with a group of farmers. Today, it was a local legislator and two farmers, one from Minnesota and one from Wisconsin.
And so, I got to learn a little bit about, you know, different products that can come from a cow that can be used. And, you know, at one point I was just like, I know this seems silly, but like, how do we find these products, you know, as simple as, like, how do we get in touch, or is there a database that we can find products that we know is going to be supporting small farms and local farms that would be helping to solve solutions instead of create problems.
BERMAN: Yes.
RATELIFF: You know, like you know, I'm blessed that capitalism works the way it does sometimes, but I think it also, you know, shoots us in the foot and in some ways is doesn't allow us to grow economically on a small level and it gives the opportunity for large corporations to squash out smaller farms. And I think that's why we're all here to continue to make the farming practices that have gone on for generations and generations and that are renewable and continue to see us grow into the future and have clean food, clean water.
And that's one of the things -- one of the farmers talked about this morning at the press conference is like our farming has an impact on water and how clean it is.
BERMAN: Yes.
[19:45:06] RATELIFF: And so, these are, you know, I think its ignorant to ignore
that as being a problem. You know, I grew up swimming in the Missouri River, I wouldn't do it now. You know what I mean? And I wouldn't jump in Mississippi, you know, and so but, you know, everything that we have that's waste runs into those -- into our aquifers, into our rivers. And so, you know, what do we leave for the future?
BERMAN: I've got to say, you know, one of the great things that you're talking about, your time with the farmers, the farmers who are the rock stars here tonight, as we've been saying, even though I have to say I was right by the stage for your set, and you had this place literally jumping.
Nathaniel Rateliff, thanks so much. So great to meet you. We're honored.
RATELIFF: It's my pleasure to be here. Thank you for giving me a chance to talk.
COATES: Sorry that he jumped on stage and tried to dance.
BERMAN: I tried.
COATES: I mean, we told him to calm down, but John Berman.
BERMAN: You said -- you kept on saying S.O.B. I thought you were talking about me.
RATELIFF: I was, yes.
COATES: That's a t-shirt. There's still so much more to come. Dave Matthews, Neil Young and many other icons.
Plus, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz joins the show. When we come back, country music star and Farm Aid board member, Margo Price is taking the stage.
BERMAN: Nice.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:50:12]
COATES: Welcome back to the Farm Aid 40, a night powered by music and by dedication to a movement. The lineup tonight is simply incredible in my home state of Minnesota -- Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews and more and you're going to hear them all right here -- John.
BERMAN: And yet tonight is about much more than what we are watching on stage. It's about the men and women confronting a crisis, a real crisis in the heartland, and Farm Aid's struggle to keep America's farmers whole.
With us now is the Governor of Minnesota in the former Democratic Vice-Presidential candidate, Tim Walz. Governor Walz, great to see you. You just told us you were at the
second ever Farm Aid.
GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN): I was. I was in Austin, Texas in '86 when Willie had the second one down there, right in the middle of the last farm crisis. So, grateful, they're here in Minnesota in farm country.
BERMAN: And I've got to say, I love your t-shirt.
COATES: Yes, show it off.
BERMAN: Show it off.
COATES: F in the DFL.
WALZ: Yes, we are not -- we are not Democrats here. We are DFLers. So it is a little different. So --
COATES: No, no, were gophers here.
WALZ: Oh that's true.
COATES: That's where we are right now, of course.
WALZ: Perfect night. Gopher Stadium, great music. But you're right. It is about helping folks. And they are in a crisis. Commodity prices are at an all-time low. Bankruptcies are 50 percent up over the last year or so.
And what we see here in Minnesota when that happens, we see a lot of calls to the crisis line. These are folks that own family farms that are 125 to 150 years old and have a chance of losing that. It is always tough to lose a business, but this is much more cultural and deeper.
It is just tough right now so --
COATES: And losing a farm, I mean, this is generational.
WALZ: Yes.
COATES: What it means to the community, what it means to the world more broadly. I mean, it could be everything to a family and the world.
WALZ: That's right. And our small communities depend on this. We are still here in Minnesota. We've got the Mayo Clinic. We've got manufacturing, we've got 3M. But the heart of our economy is still agriculture.
We feed, fuel, clothe the world. These are the folks that are leading the way on things like sustainable aviation fuel as we start to reduce carbon emissions and they are doing it more efficiently with less. But you can't -- you can't make it on $10.25 a bushel of soybeans. You can't make it when milk is $17.00 a hundred weight and you can't make it that we can't sell our products. So it is a challenge right now. Input costs are up.
Rural communities, they feel it. Because if the farmers aren't making money, they're not going into town to buy furniture. And then your schools start to suffer. The local businesses start to suffer. So I think and you'll hear Willie and the rest of them say, it probably hasn't been this bad since in the mid-80s.
BERMAN: No.
COATES: Yes.
BERMAN: You just said 55 percent, you know, bankruptcies up last year and you brought up Willie Nelson, obviously the founder, one of the co-board members here. I guess you're actually introducing.
WALZ: I get to introduce Willie Nelson.
BERMAN: That's pretty cool.
COATES: Wow!
BERMAN: And Willie Nelson not only did he found Farm Aid, but he actually kind of saved this concert at the last minute.
WALZ: He saved it.
BERMAN: Talk to me about that.
WALZ: Yes. Big thank you to the University and the Teamsters. We are doing what we do in America. We're a labor state. They're negotiating, and they'd come to a standstill and there was a picket line here.
And Willie is a labor guy and these folks playing here today will not cross a picket line. So he called up and we've been talking and negotiating. I want to give a big thank you.
These are working people that have the right to collectively bargain. The University was negotiating with them. They came to a good deal. Both sides win and we've got Farm Aid.
So I appreciate Willie. It is about Ag but it is about labor, too. These are working folks. So --
COATES: It reminds you just how interconnected the missions are and really what happens to one of us happens to all of us.
WALZ: Yes.
COATES: The idea of wanting to make sure that on the one hand, Farm Aid could survive, but yet no one was compromised in the end.
WALZ: Yes.
COATES: It is really important. But how can the government support family farms more? Obviously, we are seeing fewer and fewer year by year. Devastating. WALZ: Yes, look, the biggest thing is, is we need markets. We produce
more than we use ourselves. We don't just feed Minnesota or America, we feed the world. Now, we need those markets. We established them over decades to get to them.
What is happening now is every bin is full of soybeans. We are going to have a record harvest coming in. There is going to be soybeans in garages, on the streets, wherever we can put them, because there is nowhere to go, we have to sell them. So the way we can support them is making sure that happens.
Second thing we need to do is one of the biggest expenses for farm families, health care. They're self-employed, twenty, twenty-five thousand dollars a year in premiums to buy health care, it is unsustainable. So one of the spouses works in town to try and get health care for the family, and then making sure were investing in rural schools, rural infrastructure, because, you know, people say we put a ton of money into a bridge and only ten families use it. Yes, but those ten families feed 10,000.
And so I think it is making the case that these vibrant rural communities, as they start to collapse, the real problem is folks swoop in and buy up this land, and then we get consolidation. And, look, you can have your own feelings on that. Maybe it is more efficient or whatever, but there is not going to be small communities. There is no reason for folks to live there if we are consolidating these farms into massive sizes.
[19:55:02]
So we can make sure we buy American products, we can make sure that we are investing in those rural communities, and I will just make my pitch again: We've got to have markets where we trade with the world. Our soybeans, our corn, you know, our commodities are the best in the world. We need to sell them to folks.
BERMAN: China right now not buying American soybeans, which is causing a real issue for so many of the farmers in the country. You bring up farmers, there aren't enough things that bring everyone together right now in this country.
I do think supporting farmers is one thing that everyone agrees on in theory. The flip side of that is I am not sure there is an industry or a group of people who get caught in the middle of more of the fights through no fault of their own, right? I mean, they're caught in the middle of the tariff situation right now.
WALZ: Yes.
BERMAN: They're caught in the middle of the climate crisis situation right now. They -- you know, when it rains too much, when it is too dry, it is just a problem.
WALZ: Yes, it is very unpredictable. And I am interesting you'd say this, John, the issue of the loser almost consistently in a trade war globally are always agriculture, whether it is the Japanese, it doesn't matter who it is, but they get caught in this. There is so much unpredictability.
I always said this. I served on the Ag Committee in congress writing farm bills. With all the unpredictability, whether global events, all of those things, they need us to be predictable, pass a farm bill, allow the markets to be open, make sure you're investing. They need at least that predictability.
Every business takes a risk. But what I say to people when they complain, oh, you're giving farm subsidies. America has the healthiest, the most abundant and the most affordable food supplies in the world and people are experiencing it.
When that starts to break down, all of us pay a price for that. Food prices go up. It is harder to get what you need, starts to affect the economy. So when we invest in, say, for example, environmental type of things where a farmer is incentivized to do something to clean the water, we all benefit from that. But they shouldn't take the whole burden of doing it because we get the benefit from it. That's why we want to incentivize those things.
COATES: What can the average person do? Obviously, I am talking to a governor of a state, the great state of Minnesota, my home state.
WALZ: Yes, welcome home.
COATES: Thank you. I love being here. People often talk about what government can do, but there are people watching today who are wondering, I want to be able to help in some way, help with the market, help to support our local farms, our family farms. Does that start with us, too?
WALZ: Yes. Buy local, buy local. This is not like a niche thing or whatever to go to a farmers market. We invested heavily here in Minnesota. Look, we process a lot of beef. We are home to Hormel, JBS, those companies.
But we invested and there is a whole new industry of young people learning how to open their own butcher shops and be able to buy local, and that's the most, highest quality things. It is local. It puts the money right back into the community.
So it is not just a fun to have go to the farmers market for this. Those are markets for people that save them money, cut out the middleman and make sure that that land and the profits stay in the local community, that they don't become globalized.
BERMAN: I've got to say, you say, welcome home to Laura Coates. Everyone says welcome home. You know, Minnesota girl back home right now.
WALZ: She is our favorite star.
COATES: I'd hate to leave!
WALZ: We love having her back.
COATES: Yes!
BERMAN: I've got to say, Bob Dylan, Kevin McHale, Laura Coates, it's like the Mount Rushmore.
WALZ: There it is.
COATES: Wow!
BERMAN: Mount Rushmore.
COATES: And I am the tallest in that entire.
BERMAN: That's right.
COATES: With the biggest wingspan.
BERMAN: The difference between a family farm and a factory farm.
WALZ: Yes, and I think you'd be careful on this is, you know, there is efficiency in economy of scale. Many of these, and I've asked people, you know, how big do i have to be? And they will say, you know, how many cows do you have to milk? They'd rather milk smaller numbers. But the way that the food economy works and what we've done is you have to get bigger and bigger to survive.
A farm can be fairly big and still be in the family, still be done by these family farms living there. But the one thing I think we should mention, and it is part of where this crisis is at, a lot of this work is being done by immigrants who are first generation Americans, who are trying to become American citizens. When they're having trouble hiring those folks, it is hard to find folks to work on the farm. So that's adding to this crisis, too, of who is going to pick the crops, who is going to get out there to work on it.
But what I would say is, people can get bigger, they can be more efficient. I think the thing that I fear when i should say corporatization, that I fear, when this land gets bought up, you know, by hedge funds or things like that, that it is not in there.
My mom still owns the land that the house where she was born in and her -- my nephew or my cousins and everyone and all of those are still working on that farm. That's a family farm that's still there.
BERMAN: Yes. One very quick question before we let you go, Governor. You ran for Vice President. Your running mate, former Vice President Harris has a new book coming out. There are some spicy things in it. Have you read it?
WALZ: No, but I've heard a little bit of it. Look, I was super happy to be on there. I know my strengths and weaknesses. I think we, for the time we had Vice President Harris did a fantastic job. I think we made the case that things could have been different. And I am just -- I think people can see with their own eyes.
There was definitely a difference of philosophy in where we were at, so no, I mean, whenever you do anything, there are always things you could have done differently. But I am proud of that. I think we told America what we stood for. We laid that out and I respect voters.
COATES: What could be nicer than a Minnesotan? Love it! Thank you so much.
BERMAN: Thanks for hosting this concert. Thanks for having us here, Governor.
WALZ: Yes, and the weather. You're welcome.
BERMAN: Thanks for the weather.
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