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AS FAMILY FARMERS FACE GROWING ECONOMIC PRESSURE, FARM AID 2026 LIFTS THEIR VOICES IN HAMPTON ROADS
The annual fundraiser comes as Chapter 12 farm bankruptcies rose 46% in 2025 and around 15,000 farms closed, organizers said.
On Saturday, Farm Aid held its 41st festival at Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater in Virginia Beach, Virginia, supporting the men and women who grow the nation's food.
Chapter 12 farm bankruptcies rose 46% in 2025, marking the third consecutive year of increases as around 15,000 farms closed nationwide.
In Virginia Beach, family farmers face competition for more than 23,000 acres of land from development, a pressure the festival highlighted to show communities thrive when farmers succeed.
Farm Aid President and Founder Willie Nelson said, "When farmers can't make it, we lose access to food, businesses lose customers and communities lose people and land that can't be replaced."
Since 1985, Farm Aid has raised more than $90 million to support family farm programs, with supporters now bidding in the Memorabilia Auction through Friday, October 9.