[Update]: The 40th anniversary Farm Aid concert will go on as planned in Minneapolis after the University of Minnesota reached a deal with a striking Teamsters union. The concert is set for Saturday, September 20th at the University of Minnesota’s Huntington Bank Stadium and will feature a lineup topped by Willie Nelson & Family, Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds, and Margo Price [get tickets].

The Teamsters Local 320—which represents about 1,400 custodial, maintenance, food service, and sanitation workers at University of Minnesota campuses throughout the state—went on strike Monday, September 8th, after they said the university refused to return to the negotiating table. The Teamsters asked for a 3.5% wage increase, a figure consistent with other university unions, and the school countered with 3% before negotiations stalled.

On Saturday, the union and the university announced in a joint statement that the strike was over. According to The Minnesota Star Tribune, the school agreed to a three-year deal that includes 3.5% wage increases for the first two years and a 3% increase the third year. The deal also preserves the union’s original contract end date of June 30th.

As the strike dragged on through last week, Farm Aid organizers entered the conversation by announcing they would move the festival or cancel it entirely before crossing the picket line. In a statement posted Thursday and later updated following the strike’s end, organizers wrote, “The farm and labor movements are intertwined. Time and again farmers and workers have shown up for each other in solidarity. We are proud that the Teamsters support our festival each year!”

Farm Aid co-founder and board member Willie Nelson even personally reached out to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz amid the negotiations. Per the Star Tribune, citing sources familiar with the negotiations, Walz’s office became involved in the talks following Nelson’s call.

“This was a hard-fought strike that we won on the picket lines and with solidarity from Teamster delivery drivers and other unions such as IATSE Local 13,” Local 320 president Erik Skoog said in the statement. “We also must recognize the solidarity from the Farm Aid performers and event coordinators who refused to cross a Teamster picket line.”

In addition to board members Nelson, Young, Matthews, and Price, Farm Aid 40 will feature performances by Kenny Chesney, Billy Strings, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Lukas Nelson, Trampled By Turtles, Wynonna Judd, Steve Earle, Waxahatchee, Eric Burton (Black Pumas), viral singer-songwriter Jesse Welles, Madaline Edwards, and the Wisdom Indian Dancers. Over the weekend, singer-songwriter Sierra Ferrell announced that she will perform with Lukas Nelson at Farm Aid; however, at the expense of the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Bluegrass Live! festival in Chattanooga, TN, where she was originally scheduled to perform that same day.

Scroll down for more information on Farm Aid 40 and the University of Minnesota Teamsters strike. Purchase Farm Aid tickets here.

[9/12]25]: Farm Aid organizers announced that this year’s 40th anniversary event in Minneapolis is in jeopardy due to an ongoing strike by Teamsters at the University of Minnesota. Farm Aid 40 is set for Saturday, September 20th at U of Minnesota’s Huntington Bank Stadium, with a lineup led by Willie Nelson & Family, Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds, and Margo Price [get tickets].

“We want nothing more than to hold this event as planned,” Farm Aid organizers posted on social media on Thursday. “We have worked in partnership with the staff at Huntington Bank Stadium to create a spectacular event. However, Farm Aid has always stood with workers in their struggles for fairness, dignity, and respect. Today, the University’s Teamsters employees are on strike because of the University’s inability to come back to the table to resolve this contract dispute justly. We are deeply concerned that this jeopardizes our ability to hold Farm Aid 40 as planned but primarily puts these workers in a place of hardship as they labor to provide basic needs for their families.”

According to the Minnesota Star Tribune, the Teamsters Local 320—which represents over 1,400 custodial, maintenance, food service, and sanitation workers at the University of Minnesota—went on strike Monday evening, beginning with branch campuses before reaching the main Twin Cities campus on Tuesday night. The union and the university have been in negotiations since March, and earlier this month the Teamsters rejected the school’s offer of a 3% wage increase, hoping for a 3.5% increase to match other university unions’ contracts. This marks the first strike since the Teamsters Local 320’s creation at the University of Minnesota in the 1970s.

“The farm and labor movements are intertwined,” Farm Aid organizers continued. “Time and again farmers and workers have shown up for each other in solidarity. We are proud that the Teamsters support our festival each year! Our artists, production team and partners have made clear that they will not cross a picket line. The team that is scheduled tomorrow to begin building our complex stage and set is made up of loyal production people who have an ongoing relationship with labor across the U.S. They also will not cross a picket line. These decisions reflect our own values: the farm and labor movements are inseparable, and we believe strongly that the University must return to the bargaining table in good faith.”

With Farm Aid only eight days away as of this publication and Teamsters saying the strike could continue through the weekend, Farm Aid organizers are considering all their options. Moving a production sized for the 50,805-capacity football stadium—the largest Farm Aid in nearly 30 years—would not be simple, and staff warned that moving or canceling the event at this point “could be devastating. The expenses already incurred to bring this historic event to Minnesota may well threaten the survival of our organization after four decades of service to family farmers.”

“We are urging the University of Minnesota to settle this contract quickly so that Farm Aid 40 can proceed as intended — to celebrate four decades of farmers, music, and solidarity,” the post from Farm Aid concluded. “The world is watching, and together we can make sure this anniversary is remembered for unity, not division.”

In addition to board members Nelson, Young, Mellencamp, Matthews, and Price, Farm Aid 40 is due to host Kenny Chesney, Billy Strings, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Lukas Nelson, Trampled By Turtles, Wynonna Judd, Steve Earle, Waxahatchee, Eric Burton (Black Pumas), viral singer-songwriter Jesse Welles, Madaline Edwards, and the Wisdom Indian Dancers.

Founded by Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, and Neil Young in 1985, Farm Aid has become an annual multi-million dollar fundraiser for family farmers across the United States. Over the past four decades, the organization has raised over $80 million to “build a vibrant, family farm-centered system of agriculture in America,” per its website.

Click below to read the full statement from Farm Aid organizers about the Teamsters strike at the University of Minnesota.

For nearly 40 years, Farm Aid has stood alongside family farmers, working people, and communities to build a more just and sustainable food system. Our 40th anniversary celebration, scheduled for September 20 at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, is intended to honor that history and the resilience of America’s farmers.

We want nothing more than to hold this event as planned. We have worked in partnership with the staff at Huntington Bank Stadium to create a spectacular event. However, Farm Aid has always stood with workers in their struggles for fairness, dignity, and respect. Today, the University’s Teamsters employees are on strike because of the University’s inability to come back to the table to resolve this contract dispute justly. We are deeply concerned that this jeopardizes our ability to hold Farm Aid 40 as planned but primarily puts these workers in a place of hardship as they labor to provide basic needs for their families.

The farm and labor movements are intertwined. Time and again farmers and workers have shown up for each other in solidarity. We are proud that the Teamsters support our festival each year! Our artists, production team and partners have made clear that they will not cross a picket line. The team that is scheduled tomorrow to begin building our complex stage and set is made up of loyal production people who have an ongoing relationship with labor across the U.S. They also will not cross a picket line. These decisions reflect our own values: the farm and labor movements are inseparable, and we believe strongly that the University must return to the bargaining table in good faith.

We are currently looking at all of our options for hosting this event, but it is not an easy task to pivot at this point. It is critical to understand that if Farm Aid 40 is forced to move or cancel, the financial impact could be devastating. The expenses already incurred to bring this historic event to Minnesota may well threaten the survival of our organization after four decades of service to family farmers.

We are urging the University of Minnesota to settle this contract quickly so that Farm Aid 40 can proceed as intended — to celebrate four decades of farmers, music, and solidarity. The world is watching, and together we can make sure this anniversary is remembered for unity, not division.

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