Black Dirt farmer joins Jimmy Sturr at Sunday's Farm Aid concert

Pine Island — Chris Pawelski hasn’t been to a concert in 17 years. This Sunday, he hits pay dirt. This Black Dirt farmer has been invited by Grammy award-winning musician Jimmy Sturr to attend Farm Aid on Randall’s Island in New York City. But this will be a working trip for Pawelski. He will join Sturr, Dave Matthews, Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp and Neil Young for a pre-concert news conference to discuss the plight of farmers in this country. “I am very excited about this,” said Pawelski. “It is a great opportunity to give the performers and the media a different perspective on our needs here in the Black Dirt.” It’s been a tough couple of years for farmers in the Hudson Valley. They have been hit with three “50-year floods” in the past two years. Some of the issues that affect Orange County muck land farmers include disaster aid, crop insurance reform and immigration labor reform, according to Pawelski. “This is a great opportunity for us,” said Pawelski. “I am so grateful to Jimmy Sturr. He is a great ambassador for the region. It’s wonderful he’s given me the opportunity to talk to the performers and the media about our needs here.” This will be Sturr’s fifth Farm Aid concert. With it being held so close to the Black Dirt region, he felt it was a good opportunity to invite Pawelski to tell about the difficulties for farmers here. “I asked Chris to be at the pre-event news conference with Neil Young, Dave Matthews, Willie and myself to help enlighten people,” he said. “People have never heard of Florida, New York, or Pine Island. This is the onion capital of the world. More than anything I want to enlighten people about this area. It’s a huge farm area and we hope to help the farmers.” Farm Aid concerts began in 1985 to raise awareness about the loss of family farms and to raise funds to keep families on their land. Since then, more than $30 million has been raised to promote the family farm system of agriculture. As a farmer, Pawelski is thrilled with what Farm Aid has done over the past two decades. “They have brought a lot of attention to agriculture over the years,” he said. “It’s very important that they bring attention to us.” But when the news conference is over, just for a few hours, Pawelski will be just a fan with a backstage pass. “This is just unbelievable,” he said. “Our new digital camera will be getting a lot of use Sunday.” Tickets for Farm Aid 2007: A HOMEGROWN Festival are available at Ticketmaster, online at www.ticketmaster.com, or by calling 212-307-7171, 631-888-9000 or 203-624-0033. Ticket are $52 for general admission, $102 for reserved seats and $302 for VIP reserved seats. Doors open at noon.