AgriThoughts

New Child Labor Laws Will Hurt Agriculture

The agriculture industry is not for everyone- it is long hours in all types of weather with very little return, but for those of us in it we put out heart and soul into what we do. 

For true success in the agriculture field you need to start and young age and learn the ropes. You need to know what a good work ethic is and what it means to work hard. What has come to light in the past few months is the want to change child labor laws- under the new rules, the Department of Labor would end most child labor exemptions that currently exist in farming by denying work to anyone under the age of 16, unless the farm is owned by their parents and one of the parents is directly overseeing their work. Furthermore, most 14- and 15-year-old workers would be prevented from operating any tractor, all-terrain vehicle, milking machine, or lawn mower. (Confer, 2011).

On top of this, no youth can be near a motorized machine while it is in use. This means no hay elevators, hay wagons being pulled by tractors and any and all equipment run by a PTO.

Everyone under the age of 18 will be strictly prohibited from any and all acts of animal husbandry. They won’t be able to corral and herd cattle, pigs or poultry. They won’t be allowed to brand, breed, treat or raise animals. They’d be denied access to stockyards, cattle auctions, and feed lots. They can’t pitch manure or feed chickens or cows (Confer, 2011).

With these rulings in place, the 4-H and FFA will almost become obsolete.

How are we supposed to help our future generations with we cannot teach them how to do anything? How are children supposed to understand what is going on within the industry if they can’t see anything? How are we supposed to teach them what the right ways are and what the wrong ways are if they can’t be on the farm? These laws will ruin agriculture for the future.