With the average age of the American farmer now over 50 years old according to the Environmental Protection Agency and the family farm on visible life support, the Obama Administration has moved to put the ailing patient out of his misery with a well aimed bullet right between the eyes.
What better way to ensure the complete and utter death of the family farm in just a few short years than to prohibit the children of farm owning parents from working the land and learning the business alongside Mom and Dad?
A proposed new rule from the Obama Administration would ban children under 18 from any farm work which involves the “storing, marketing, and transporting of farm product raw materials.”
A Labor Department press release read that “Prohibited places of employment would include country grain elevators, grain bins, silos, feed lots, stockyards, livestock exchanges and livestock auctions.”
In addition, under this proposed rule, independent groups like 4-H would no longer be allowed to teach and certify safety training to children replacing such locally based youth agricultural programs with a 90 hour federal government training course.
Let’s think about this for a moment.
This rule forbids just about every farm chore I can think of right down to coloring a flyer with paper and crayons to decorate the farm’s booth at the local Farmer’s Market.
So, what are farm kids supposed to do then if they can’t do much of anything around the farm until they are 18 which includes running a small business of their own on the farm to generate some income for college?
I guess they can always play video games or watch TV instead. Surely there’s a video game out there where children can simulate farm chores without ever leaving the living room couch!
A generation of farm kids raised on sloth instead of a hard work ethic will undoubtedly ensure that few family farms will make it into the next generation’s hands.
With children not able to be mentored by their parents on the farm nor by other local agricultural leaders in their community via 4-H or FFA, loss of interest in agriculture by the next generation of family farmers is virtually guaranteed.
Wait a minute!
Did you hear something?
Oh, nevermind. It’s just the cha-ching of campaign contributions from Monsanto.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
Source:Â Rural Kids, Parents Angry About Labor Department Rule Banning Farm Chores
this is sooo scary! and sad! and gets me sooooo upset!!!!
This article goes on about not allowing our kids to learn the business of Agriculture from their parents. This is at best a distortion. I own a small farm and I understand the dangers having children in roles that are more suited for an adult decision making process.
Sarah, I was horrified by the article and shared the link on my wall. My daughter-in-law responded: “I read lots of the comments and the article is a tad misleading. Here is a quote from the comments: “The first information that came out on this change in child labor laws was inaccurate. It will not prohibit children from working on family farms or FFA or 4-H programs…The reasoning for the change was to address the increasing number of deaths and injuries from children of migrant farmers and agricultural workers that were not directly related to those owning the farms. Furthermore, it doesn’t apply to kids whose parents own the farm. Here’s a link to explain better: http://www.examiner.com/article/kids-can-still-work-on-family-farms-and-do-4-h-under-proposed-law” I’m presenting here for clarification. 🙂
That’s what nullification is, Alison. http://youtu.be/8iPA7dmLlWc
THIS INSANITY HAS TO BE STOPPED!!!!!!! Our founding father’s are spinning in their graves. The government was NEVER supposed to have so much control over our lives! It’s just ridiculous!!
What can WE do, you ask?? Getting a new President elected would be a great start! And I don’t mean just another puppet, no matter what “party” they are with! (Obama and Romney are two sides of the same coin!)
I would suggest you do WHATEVER YOU CAN to get Dr. Ron Paul elected! He is the only HONEST, conservative candidate and his track record proves it!! Do the research!
http://WWW.RONPAUL2012.COM
For Liberty,
Misti
Modern-day slavery exists; however, this regulation is NOT about that in its truest sense – that is where the Kool-Aid is getting a bit too sweet and the “being well informed” has become a title for supporting that which looks good on the surface only… dig a bit deeper for true awareness.
This regulation would have prevented all of my childhood farm working experience because my parents didn’t own the farms. It would exclude working on a relative’s farm. Most of my friends who worked on farms as children and young adults would have been prevented from that simply due to this ridiculous regulation.
There are better ways to prevent child abuse in this setting; so, quite frankly, wake up and see this for what it is.
That is totally sick!!! I just don’t understand why anyone would vote for OBAMA!! What a control freak!!! This government has totally gone mad trying to control people like this! This really infuriates me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Why wont’ people wake up and fight back against the government over these constant intrusions of our freedom?
Obama is just doing what his corporate masters are telling him to do. That’s why so many people have lost the ‘HOPE’ that he campaigned on 4 years ago. I never thought Democrats / Republicans: same thing – but after these past four years, I do now. Both parties are in bed with big business at the expense of all of us……and as we have seen ‘BIG’ is as preditory as ever.
Of course they are.
Go Ron Paul… and probably more importantly, local candidates who’ll support ‘nullification.’
Dale- As much as I would like to believe that Ron Paul would be the person to make a difference in all of this, the truth is is that NO man can change this mess. It is a multi-layered fiasco that is so deeply tied to the almighty dollar that it would be impossible for Dr. Paul to change a thing.
“and probably more importantly, local candidates who’ll support ‘nullification.’ “
Just one more way to ensure that we are dependent on other nations for all our needs…incredible.
Someone mentioned that they will just pay the fine and let the kids work, but I wonder? Will it only be a fine that has to be payed, or will the parent then be considered guilty of child endangerment? How far will it go?