Drought Aid? Sacramento Man Proposes Farm Aid-Style Concert To Help Dry State

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — A Sacramento man presented the idea of a Farm Aid-type concert to help those affected by the drought at Tuesday's City Council meeting.

For 30 years, celebrities have come together to help farmers in need, raising $48 million in 3 decades of Farm Aid.

This week, David Baumgartner from Sacramento proposed the idea to bring a similar event to California during the unprecedented drought.

David Kranz from the California Farm Bureau says the drought has already resulted in more than $2 billion in economic damage, including up to 1 million acres of farmland that could go unplanted this year and more than 17,000 agriculture jobs lost statewide.

"Long term, it could have a big impact on the price of food, where we get our food and how much food is available," he said.

Farm Aid organizers say California's drought emergency could certainly benefit from a large-scale event that raises money and awareness.

"The interest is definitely to open some lines of communication and hear what farmers are experiencing and how Farm Aid would be able to help," spokeswoman Jennifer Fahy said.