# Farm Aid **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 6, 2003, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farm-aid/186526 "2003-07-06T06:38:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2003, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farm-aid/186526/1 "2003-07-06T06:38:58Z")
Okay,so what’s the deal with this **Farm Aid**? Been hearing about it for a long time, but does anyone know just what it is? Supposedly it’s to raise money for poor farmers. Here’s a quote from a recent internet news article: …Farm Aid communications director Mark Smith in a statement. ''The Farm Aid concert is an inspiration to Farm Aid’s year-round work to keep family farmers on the land… Well, we know where the money is coming from (ticket sales from Willie Nelson/ John ((Cougar)) Mellancamp, etc. concerts), but do we know who it is going to?.. and how it is getting there? How much money is raised? How much does the _“Farm Aid communications director”_ get? Who decides which farmers get money and how much? The whole notion sounds admirable, but… I, being the ever vigilant straight doper, see\*\* SCAM\*\* written all over it. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2003, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farm-aid/186526/2 "2003-07-06T07:08:01Z")
Google is your friend - [http://www.farmaid.org/event/](http://www.farmaid.org/event/) ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2003, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farm-aid/186526/3 "2003-07-06T07:14:14Z")
[The “About Us”](http://www.farmaid.org/event/aboutus/) page at that site. I doubt you’ll be able to find out how much money goes into administration, such as the Communication director’s salary, but with most charities, admin costs do come into it. ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2003, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farm-aid/186526/4 "2003-07-06T07:30:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Duckster \* > \*\*Google is your friend - [http://www.farmaid.org/event/](http://www.farmaid.org/event/) \*\* Yeah, Google is my friend, but it’s blowing smoke up your ass. The site you refered me to is an advertisement for Farm Aid. It doesn’t aswer the questions: **How much money** is raised. **Who gets it** **Why?** ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2003, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farm-aid/186526/5 "2003-07-06T07:37:45Z")
Have a [further look around that site](http://www.farmaid.org/event/aboutus/grants.asp), **Peanuthead**. The grants criteria are given there. As I said, admin costs would be less transparent, unless you went for public records search elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2003, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farm-aid/186526/6 "2003-07-06T07:39:16Z")
Just to add – I don’t think it’s a scam. But I do think they have overheads the public may not be readily aware of. ---
**Author:** ![chile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@chile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chile)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2013, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farm-aid/186526/7 "2013-12-14T20:39:15Z")
[http://www.maninnature.com/Management/Farming/Farm1b.html](http://www.maninnature.com/Management/Farming/Farm1b.html) :eek: Not to famers that is for sure. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2013, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farm-aid/186526/8 "2013-12-14T20:47:27Z")
Admittedly it would have been a timely update soon after this thread was started back in 2003, but the linked article was published in 2004. Not very useful info nearly a decade later. A link to the [charity’s analysis at Charity Navigator](http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=8181#.UqzDck6QOvQ) shows they are currently very good about transparency and accountability, and spend approximately 1/3 of their revenue on administrative costs, which may or may not be a little high. Certainly their fundraising costs are quite low! ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2013, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farm-aid/186526/9 "2013-12-14T20:55:56Z")
[Where the money goes](http://www.farmaid.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=qlI5IhNVJsE&b=2723877&ct=13379625¬oc=1), from their website. The board of directors consists of Willie Nelson, Neil Young, Dave Matthews and John Mellencamp, and I’ve got my doubts that they are making a great profit off this venture. [This site](http://homerecording.about.com/od/interviewstipstricks/a/farmaid06.htm) says that labor and production of the shows is largely donated. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2013, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farm-aid/186526/10 "2013-12-14T21:10:47Z")
> [@chile](#): > > [http://www.maninnature.com/Management/Farming/Farm1b.html](http://www.maninnature.com/Management/Farming/Farm1b.html) :eek: Not to famers that is for sure. Is there a reason you revived this ten year old thread? ---
**Author:** ![bubba001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f17d59/32.png) [@bubba001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bubba001)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2013, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farm-aid/186526/11 "2013-12-14T22:30:25Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Is there a reason you revived this ten year old thread? I googled Trent Loos, and he was a manager of a large confinement hog factory, convicted of rustling cattle!! Basically selling cattle he didn’t pay for to start with. Guy should have gone to wall street.:eek: ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2013, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farm-aid/186526/12 "2013-12-14T22:43:23Z")
> [@bubba001](#): > > I googled Trent Loos, and he was a manager of a large confinement hog factory, convicted of rustling cattle!! Basically selling cattle he didn’t pay for to start with. Guy should have gone to wall street.:eek: Cite for this, please? Is it the same Trent Loos that is a radio personality?