Old MacDonald Lost His Farm, E-I-E-I-O
Songs and actions for rural and food-system sustainability
Updated: Farm Aid, the fundraising concert series launched in 1985 (!) by Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp, took place on September 21 in upstate New York. Dave Matthews and Margo Price joined the effort soon after it began and it’s always a rousing jamboree. You can watch highlights:
The focus from 1985 onward has been aiding America’s small family farms. Farm Aid has gone far beyond just raising money. See the group’s four-pronged mission below.
Many small farms and the families and communities that run them are facing intensifying pressure from consolidation by big corporations, competing land uses, inflation and so much more. Those pressures are driving a host of ills, including this stark statistic reported on by PBS in June: “Farmers are 3.5 times more likely to die by suicide than the general population, according to the National Rural Health Association.” The Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a web page on rural suicide noting that “etween 2000-2020, suicide rates increased 46% in non-metro areas compared to 27.3% in metro areas.”
As you likely know by now, I’ve been a performing songwriter since the early 1990s along with my journalism. I’m making this a bigger part of my life now that I’m settled in Maine. I recently wrote a variant on the age-old children’s song Old MacDonald and figure this is a good day to share it. Caution: This song is NOT for kids and it does deal with suicide.
Farm Aid farmers' hotline: 1-800-FARM-AID (1-800-327-6243). 988 Suicide and Crisis Hotline: 988lifeline.org
You can download an audio file on my Bandcamp site. There’s another version on YouTube. The lyrics are appended at the bottom of this post.
Here’s more from Farm Aid. On Friday the organization hosted a national forum for farmers that is worth a listen:
The Farm Aid mission
Here’s the organization’s four-pronged mission:
Helping Farmers Thrive - Since 1985, Farm Aid has answered 1-800-FARM-AID to provide immediate and effective support services to farm families in crisis. Through our hotline and the online Farmer Resource Network, Farm Aid connects farmers to an extensive network of organizations across the country offering resources they need to access new markets, transition to more sustainable and profitable farming practices, deal with stress related to the survival of their farm and rebuild after natural disasters while creating resilience for the future. For cases that require intense one-onone consultation, Farm Aid refers farmers to Farm Advocates who have decades of experience assisting farmers with legal and financial expertise, mental health and social services, disaster assistance and more.
Taking Action to Change the System - Farm Aid works with and provides grants to local, regional and national organizations to promote fair farm policies and grassroots campaigns designed to defend and bolster family farmcentered agriculture. Our Action Center allows engaged eaters to become advocates for farm policy change. By working side-by-side with farmers to protest damaging farm policy and inform farmers and eaters about critical issues, Farm Aid strengthens the voices of family farmers and stands up for the people upon whom we all depend.
Promoting Food from Family Farms - From Farm Aid’s annual festival event that features family farm food and unites farmers, artists and engaged eaters, to our inspiring and informative communications campaigns like our Farmer Hero stories, Farm Aid bolsters a powerful movement for family farm food. At every Farm Aid festival, our HOMEGROWN Village and HOMEGROWN Concessions® foster our work to cultivate a greater demand for food from family farmers and to bring farmers and eaters together.
Growing the Good Food Movement - Farm Aid spotlights farmers, ranchers and producers at the root of our food system, and celebrates the great power of food to connect people and grow strong communities. To ensure family farmers thrive, we have to create and expand markets, giving more people the opportunity to access family farm food. Farm Aid fosters connections between farmers and eaters by growing and strengthening local and regional markets and working to get family farm food in urban neighborhoods, grocery stores, restaurants, schools and other public settings.
New MacDonald (Lost His Farm)
© 2023 Andrew Revkin
Old MacDonald had a farm. Ee-yi ee-yi-o.
And on that farm he had some cows.
Ee-yi ee-yi-o.
With a moo moo here, and a moo moo there.
Here a moo, there a moo, everywhere.
Old MacDonald had a farm.
Ee-yi ee-yi-o. Ee-yi ee-yi-o.
Old MacDonald had a farm. Ee-yi ee-yi-o.
And on that farm he took a loan.
Ee-yi ee-yi-o.
Had to pay for feed, and tractor fuel.
Taxes rising, too.
Old MacDonald had a loan.
What’s a man to do? What’s a man to do?
Old MacDonald lost that farm. Ee-yi ee-yi-o.
Missed three payments, last the charm.
Ee-yi ee-yi-o.
Then the bankers came,
And the auctioneer came, singing his selling song.
Old MacDonald lost the farm.
Now everything is gone. Everything is gone.
Old MacDonald bought the farm. Ee-yi ee-yi-o.
Found him slumped on the tractor,
Dead in the barn.
Ee-yi ee-yi-o.
He was born there. Swore he’d die there.
And everything he swore came true.
Old MacDonald bought the farm.
What’s a man to do?
What’s a man to do?
Parting shots
Here’s my friend Bob Bowen of Sunset Acres Farm in downeast Maine and some scenes from the Blue Hill Fair, Common Ground Fair and the vegetable garden of our old Hudson Valley neighbors at Glynwood Center for Regional Food and Farming.
