Against the Grain Episode 7: Live Farm Aid 2024 Live Panel

In this episode of Against the Grain, we take you to the FarmYard Stage at Farm Aid 2024 in Saratoga Springs, New York. There we made our first recording of an Against the Grain episode in front of a live audience, under the big tent out in Farm Aid's HOMEGROWN Village. Every year at Farm Aid, farmers and artists come together on the FarmYard Stage to talk about pressing farm and food issues. The Against the Grain panel discussion featured two rockstar farmers, Hope LaBonty of Loving Earth Compost and Elizabeth Ryan of Breezy Hill Orchards, along with bona fide rockstar and frequent Farm Aid artist Nathaniel Rateliff. Listen in as Hope and Liz talk about the soil - how composting all of the food waste from an event like Farm Aid generates new soil - and how farmers, organizers and the public can come together to make composting happen on a scale that is transformative. You'll also hear Nathaniel talk not only about the platform that artists have to support farmers like Liz and Hope, but also about how music and food bring people together, transcending political division.  For many Farm Aid artists, participating in a FarmYard Stage discussion is one of their favorite festival experiences.