In 1987, Neil Young stepped on stage in Lincoln, Neb., laden with a heavy heart, a guitar to his back and a harmonica hanging below his lips.

The singer/songwriter was set to perform to the tens of thousands attending the third annual Farm Aid, a benefit concert that he, Willie Nelson, and John Mellencamp organized in response to America’s farming recession.

Dressed in a dark denim jacket and a well-worn purple bandana to keep his stringy hair in place, Young sang the opening line, “Well, I hate to say the farmer was the last of a dying breed,” describing the depressing agricultural climate in his song, “Farmer.”

Family farms were being foreclosed, but it was still clear America needed its farmers.

The 1980s marked a time of immense struggle for America’s farmland, and like Young, many wanted to demonstrate their support for the hard-working people feeding the nation.

Legendary Iowa football coach Hayden Fry was coaching amid the crisis rippling through the Hawkeye State in the mid- to late-1980s. Fry wanted Iowa fans across the state and nation to know his team identified with their strife and commended their courage.

Thus his players’ black glossy helmets donned a circular yellow decal with the letters “ANF” emblazoned in black. It was a tradition that began in 1985 and lasted through 1992.

The abbreviation stood for the same message Young and those at Farm Aid preached: America Needs Farmers.

“I thought the Iowa football team should do something to call attention to the farmers’ economic problems,” Fry wrote in his book, Hayden Fry: A High Porch Picnic.

“We wore the decals for several seasons, and because we played so many games on television, they drew the attention of fans all over the country.”

When Fry was honored last weekend during the Hawkeyes’ opener against Northern Iowa, those watching in Kinnick Stadium or on TV saw the throwback return prominently on Iowa’s helmets.

But with the return of the vintage decal also returns the recession.

“I remember growing up a Hawkeye fan, having that on Coach Fry’s teams and what that meant for the state and for this football team,” said senior Joe Conklin, a native of Davenport.

While the Hawkeyes had discreetly positioned the letters “ANF” in the back of their helmets before, players were pleased to have the decal back in its classical placement — right above the Tigerhawk — for their game against the Panthers.

“It’s a big honor,” said senior linebacker and Bettendorf native Pat Angerer. “There’s a lot of great, hard-working people in the state. It’s nice we can honor them. “I hope we keep it.”

With the emblem so emotionally rooted in the state’s past and now present, many wonder if the vintage symbol will be a permanent fixture on the Hawkeye helmets this season.

“I’m not honestly sure what the future is for the rest of that, but I know the players liked it,” Conklin said. “I’m sure the fans enjoyed it, and it’s a great tribute to Coach Fry and the things that he’s done.”