Nelson Invites Candidates To Meet Farmers

Farm Aid co-founder Willie Nelson has issued an invitation to four presidential candidates -- Al Gore, George W. Bush, Ralph Nader, and Pat Buchanan -- to meet with farmers prior to the Sept. 17 Farm Aid 2000 concert outside Washington, D.C. In addition, the members of the House and Senate Agricultural Committees, members of the House and Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committees, and the House and Senate leadership have been invited to the meeting.

"It is so bad in farm country that a farmer's return on a bushel of corn won't even buy a gallon of gasoline," Nelson said in a statement. "This is why we need members of Congress and the future president to hear from family farmers about how we can work together to ensure that our food continues to be produced in America by our family farmers."

The 15th anniversary Farm Aid concert will be held at the Nissan Pavilion in Bristow, Va., and sponsored by Best Buy. The bill features co-founders Nelson, Neil Young, and John Mellencamp, as well as Barenaked Ladies, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Travis Tritt, Sawyer Brown, Arlo Guthrie, North Mississippi Allstars, Jimmy Sturr, and Shannon Curfman. More artists will be announced in the near future.