Deere & Company plans to host a virtual country music concert on Dec. 9 to benefit Farm Rescue, a national nonprofit that helps farmers and ranchers who have experienced a major illness, injury or natural disaster by providing the necessary equipment and manpower to plant, hay or harvest their crop. The headliners will be Dustin Lynch, Maddie & Tae, Mickey Guyton, Travis Denning, and Tyler Farr.
The Farm Must Go On by John Deere concert, which is open to the general public, will honor how innovative, industrious, and resilient farmers are — a side much of the non-farming community rarely gets to see — while shining a spotlight on all that they do for our country. Today, among the U.S. population of 330 million, there are 3.4 million farmers, marking just 1 percent of the population. On average, each farm feeds 166 people, so even one missed planting season or one missed harvest due to an unexpected event has a ripple effect.
“The impact of COVID-19 has been felt by everyone throughout the country and around the world. Farmers are no exception,” says Bill Gross, president and founder of Farm Rescue. “COVID highlights the vulnerability of family farms — when something unpredicted happens, not only is the family carrying that health burden, but also the pressure to produce, and the stresses of maintaining a viable operation.”
When a farmer faces an unforeseen crisis, Farm Rescue and its volunteers step in to help farmers get their crops planted or harvested, ensuring food on tables across the country, and the livelihood of that family. Farm Rescue’s mission is more important today than ever.
The two-hour virtual concert will broadcast live from the Brooklyn Bowl in Nashville. It will be live streamed on YouTube, at no cost to viewers. Donations are encouraged; select donors will have the chance to win a one-on-one virtual meet-and-greet with one of the concert artists.
“John Deere and Farm Rescue share something special — our work is driven by a commitment to empower the livelihoods of farmers. For John Deere, it’s about the machines, technologies, and services that enable farmers to become more profitable and sustainable, despite the challenges and uncertainty they face,” says Nate Clark, president of the John Deere Foundation.
For more information on how to livestream the concert and support farmers in need, visit www.JohnDeere.com/TheFarmMustGoOn.
