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Posted on 04/25/2012 6:26:12 AM PDT by No One Special
A proposal from the Obama administration to prevent children from doing farm chores has drawn plenty of criticism from rural-district members of Congress. But now it’s attracting barbs from farm kids themselves.
The Department of Labor is poised to put the finishing touches on a rule that would apply child-labor laws to children working on family farms, prohibiting them from performing a list of jobs on their own families’ land.
Under the rules, children under 18 could no longer work “in the storing, marketing and transporting of farm product raw materials.”
“Prohibited places of employment,” a Department press release read, “would include country grain elevators, grain bins, silos, feed lots, stockyards, livestock exchanges and livestock auctions.”
The new regulations, first proposed August 31 by Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, would also revoke the government’s approval of safety training and certification taught by independent groups like 4-H and FFA , replacing them instead with a 90-hour federal government training course.
Rossie Blinson, a 21-year-old college student from Buis Creek, N.C., told The Daily Caller that the federal government’s plan will do far more harm than good.
“The main concern I have is that it would prevent kids from doing 4-H and FFA projects if they’re not at their parents’ house,” said Blinson.
“I started showing sheep when I was four years old. I started with cattle around 8. It’s been very important. I learned a lot of responsibility being a farm kid.”
In Kansas, Cherokee County Farm Bureau president Jeff Clark was out in the field — literally on a tractor — when TheDC reached him. He said if Solis’s regulations are implemented, farming families’ labor losses from their children will only be part of the problem.
“What would be more of a blow,” he said, “is not teaching our kids the values of working on a farm.”
The Environmental Protection Agency reports that the average age of the American farmer is now over 50 .
“Losing that work-ethic — it’s so hard to pick this up later in life,” Clark said. “There’s other ways to learn how to farm, but it’s so hard. You can learn so much more working on the farm when you’re 12, 13, 14 years old.”
John Weber, 19, understands this. The Minneapolis native grew up in suburbia and learned the livestock business working summers on his relatives’ farm.
He’s now a college Agriculture major.
“I started working on my grandparent’s and uncle’s farms for a couple of weeks in the summer when I was 12,” Weber told TheDC. “I started spending full summers there when I was 13.”
“The work ethic is a huge part of it. It gave me a lot of direction and opportunity in my life. If they do this it will prevent a lot of interest in agriculture. It’s harder to get a 16 year-old interested in farming than a 12 year old.”
Weber is also a small businessman. In high school, he said, he took out a loan and bought a few steers to raise for income. “Under these regulations,” he explained, “I wouldn’t be allowed to do that.”
In February the Labor Department seemingly backed away from what many had called an unrealistic reach into farmers’ families, reopening the public comment period on a section of the regulations designed to give parents an exemption for their own children.
But U.S. farmers’ largest trade group is unimpressed.
“American Farm Bureau does not view that as a victory,” said Kristi Boswell, a labor specialist with the American Farm Bureau Federation. “It’s a misconception that they have backed off on the parental exemption.”
Boswell chafed at the government’s rationale for bringing farms strictly into line with child-labor laws.
“They have said the number of injuries are higher for children than in non-ag industries,” she said. But everyone in agriculture, Boswell insisted, “makes sure youth work in tasks that are age-appropriate.”
The safety training requirements strike many in agriculture as particularly strange, given an injury rate among young people that is already falling rapidly.
According to a United States Department of Agriculture study , farm accidents among youth fell nearly 40 percent between 2001 and 2009, to 7.2 injuries per 1,000 farms.
Clark said the regulations are vague and meddlesome.
“It’s so far-reaching,” he exclaimed, “kids would be prohibited from working on anything ‘power take-off’ driven, and anything with a work-height over six feet — which would include the tractor I’m on now.”
The way the regulations are currently written, he added, would prohibit children under 16 from using battery powered screwdrivers, since their motors, like those of a tractor, are defined as “power take-off driven.”
And jobs that could “inflict pain on an animal” would also be off-limits for kids. But “inflicting pain,” Clark explained, is left undefined: If it included something like putting a halter on a steer, 4-H and FFA animal shows would be a thing of the past.
In a letter to The Department of Labor in December, Montana Republican Rep. Denny Rehberg complained that the animal provision would also mean young people couldn’t “see veterinary medicine in practice … including a veterinarian’s own children accompanying him or her to a farm or ranch.”
Boswell told TheDC that the new farming regulations could go into effect as early as August. She claimed farmers could soon find The Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division inspectors on their land, citing them for violations.
“In the last three years that division has grown 30 to 40 percent,” Boswell said. Some Farm Bureau members, she added, have had inspectors on their land checking on conditions for migrant workers, only to be cited for allowing their own children to perform chores that the Labor Department didn’t think were age-appropriate.
It’s something Kansas Republican Senator Jerry Moran believes simply shouldn’t happen.
During a March 14 hearing, Moran blasted Hilda Solis for getting between rural parents and their children.
“The consequences of the things that you put in your regulations lack common sense,” Moran said.
“And in my view, if the federal government can regulate the kind of relationship between parents and their children on their own family’s farm, there is almost nothing off-limits in which we see the federal government intruding in a way of life.”
The Department of Labor did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
This Stalinist apparatchik must be purged
“The Department of Labor did not respond to repeated requests for comment.”
You must obey.
I suspect the motivation for this stupid thing is to make American farmers even more reliant on illegal labor. Has nothing whatsoever to do with protecting children.
That is insane! These people are absolutely nuts, they have to stop them before they totally destroy this country.
More governmental intrusion in areas where they have NO business, IMO. The American farming family has done just fine without Big Bro’s intrusions on what the kids can or cannot do. Kids growing up on farms know they have chores, and guess what, they grow to be some of our most productive citizens (just my opinion). We can’t have that now, can we?
FUBO
There are so many of them surrounding the Clown in Charge
All you need is the government!
If people don't see the total & utter destruction that is happening piece by piece in America, they're blind.
God help us all.
In understanding the Luciferian agenda, it’s not about illegals, either, it’s about FAMILIES as an autonomous unit of society.
They hate that.
I have never met an OSHA inspector who thought that kids working on the farm was OK.
“And in my view, if the federal government can regulate the kind of relationship between parents and their children on their own family’s farm, there is almost nothing off-limits in which we see the federal government intruding in a way of life.”
Exactly. These bastards won’t stop until they are controlling everything that goes in or out of our eyes, minds, and bodies.
This is full-out war on what America is all about. Everything about this foreign enemy combatant in the White House is geared toward destroying the fabric of this nation and turning it into bottom-feeding scum.
....farmers could soon find The Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division inspectors on their land, citing them for violations.....
I can say that in a lot of states this will effect there is a lot of empty ground, in out of the way places that “DOL Wage and Hour Division inspectors” could get “lost” in trying to reach farms/ranches to enforce this law. West Texas, parts of Idaho, Montana. This just plain stupid.
The oppressive federal government has to keep teenagers from helping on their family farms “as soon as August.” After all, illegal aliens are looking for work or they’ll go back to Mexico and the Democrats will be deprived of their votes in November.
There will be hell to pay in farm country when the pencil pushers come out to check on this outrageous rule. Democrat legislators will be thrown out of office in rural districts.
Typical top-down meddling from this crowd; google the depression-era Schecter Brothers from Brooklyn for an amusing look at this kind of thing.
“There are so many of them surrounding the Clown in Charge”
Everywhere you look; how many Van Jones/Anita Dunns/Valerie Jarrets does it take to convince a person?
The concept of families as the basic unit of society is the chief competitor to the communist view of the government as the basic unit of society. Who should tuck the children in bed? Who should teach them about life? Who should feed and clothe them? The reason the communists need to destroy the US economy and make sure that people don’t have jobs is because if people have jobs they will be able to provide for their families; if they have no job the government will have to step in and become the provider, protector, teacher, etc for all the kids.
Hitler did the same thing in Germany. Anything he could do to get the kids away from the influence of their parents.
Some of the kids at school recommended that I read a book called “The Giver” (can’t remember the author). Very thought-provoking. It’s where the society has chosen to control every aspect of life so all outcomes are known and the same. There are no families. There is no love. There is no freedom. It’s very safe, very comfortable. But very fake.
Very much like what Obama is trying to shape this country into being.
That’s what drones are for. The dictator-in-chief has all the bases covered.
I have wondered about this. It seems to me that with increased energy and gasoline costs, increased property taxes, increased regulation of natural resource related industries (Logging, mining, fishing) and the further meddling in rural areas that a war on non-urbanism is going on.
If you think about it the people who live in rural areas are less likely to rely on a government agency for their needs and are more likely to rely on themselves and on their abilities -- and therefore making them an enemy of the State. If the regime were to heard us all into government housing pods clustered around government mass transport we would by default be relying on them rather than us.
They are trying to further enslave the public.
It sounds like total black helicopter conspiracy stuff but it makes sense to me.
I would get nothing done around here without the help from my children, and I have a hobby farm. I can’t imagine having a full time farm and not having the kids help. They love it, and have learned great responsibility, how to grow and preserve food, raise animals, etc.. I can see why the government wouldn’t like that, they are going to grow up and not need a government hand out.
The feds will just take their union dues directly out of the farmers' bank accounts to make it convenient for everyone.
SWAT teams will be raiding farms, shackling parents, burning barns/farmhouses, shooting the animals, salting the fields, shipping the kids off to re-education camps where they’ll be forced to do communal hard labor.
Why do people even bother trying to follow these “laws” anymore.
Be like the illegals.. overwhelm them with non compliance.
Just like the illegals.. they cant arrest everyone!
Yes and no. I totally agree this is not about the safety of children. But I disagree that it is about illegals. More likely it is to make the cost of farming so cost prohibitive that family's will be forced to sell to big agribusiness like ADM, ConAgra, and Monsanto.
The idea is to concentrate populations in urban areas instead of folks being spread out in rural ares - those spread out folks aren't as easy to control.
That being said...there is no subsitute for physical labor. It can’t be learned from books, movies or teachers. The sooner a child is introduced to it, the better...even if they’re only pushing a Lil’ Tykes red plastic mower around the yard while Dad is cutting the grass.
I’m very glad you two get it.
I’ve been trying to get people to wake up to the reality that the family is the primary target of the left and to act accordingly.
And, no, cowman, it’s not “black helicopter stuff”.
The left/communists are working to build a one world community under one leader, and this leader will NOT be serving God.
Now, I want you to think about these policies in light of what you now see:
1) CAFE standards (smaller cars)
2) Intentional increase in fuel costs
3) Car seat requirements (larger footprint per child)
Think about it though - the way the left selectively enforces the laws to further their agenda.
They’ll find the resources to enforce this, even if they have to hire tens of thousands of new IRS agents... ooops.
I would like to know why these “inspectors” are allowed on these farms. Are people fined if they don’t let them on their property? This is a serious question, because I would think that the “inspectors” would be trespassing if people don’t want them there. We have a fence and a gate that clearly says “No Trespassing,” and we don’t open the gate for just anyone.
That said, if the “inspectors” do show up, the parents and children could just explain that they are not “working,” they are “playing.” Then the “inspector” would have to prove somehow that the activity is not play, which would be pretty hard if the child insisted that it was and that he was having fun.
Seems to me you’d need a warrant.
Also seems to me any evidence leading to a warrant that was obtained through spy drones or satellites should be thrown out.
This is absurd. Some of the most mature and responsible kids I have ever known throughout my life have been kids raised on farms.
When I was a LOT younger (and less mature) I used to snobbishly look down my city kid nose at rural kids raised on family farms. Then I got to know them.
I have NEVER met a farm kid who was lazy, dumb or immature. I’ve NEVER met one who needed the government to shelter them from the chores they have as part of the family farm. Sure, like city kids, they would rather play video games or watch junk on TV but, the obligations of the farm keep them grounded and give them tools that most city kids lack.
This is the attack that the Obama Administration is launching on farm kids. They are attacking kids who will be tomorrow’s leaders because of their maturity and responsibility. If farm chores were such a big issue, why are 4H clubs thriving??
The government is only trying to help.
its for the children. /s
They are trying to further enslave the public.
You just described Agenda 21.
I’m just headed out the door or I’d find it to post here, but a person has only to look at the communist objectives as presented to Congress a long time ago (1960’s?) to see how they intended to destroy the family.
Abortion, pornography, no-fault divorce, homosexuality, promiscuity, drugs, welfare.... it is all geared toward breaking the family so badly that the government would HAVE to step in and be the provider for these “poor people”. If Christians resisted government taking over the role of family for those people, they would be called uncaring hypocrites.
The leading cause of poverty in the US is divorce. Anything that increases divorce or single-parent homes is good for the communist cause.
Much more could be said but I gotta run. If people figure out the implications of that communist goal to destroy the family, it will explain everything we see by the leftists in America. The family has to be destroyed and the hole that’s left filled by government. That’s the very strategic plan to destroy this country and its freedoms.
1) CAFE standards (smaller cars) 2) Intentional increase in fuel costs 3) Car seat requirements (larger footprint per child)
I have also wondered about the taking of private lands for federal and state "parks" Most of the takings were in the more rural western part of the country where the people living there would be more likely to resist government intrusion. It may have been spun as a preservation movement but the result was to reduce their opposition.
OMG, LOL! I can’t wait to talk to DFL farmers who voted for this nimrod, about this. Hahaha.
They may not, but many certainly voted for this fool, simply because the word “farmer” in DFL. It also has to do with not in any way voting GOP. It takes foolishness like this to maybe, just maybe, get through to these people.
Podcast on this topic from a great speaker, biblical worldview:
http://generationswithvision.com/broadcast/obama-administration-threatening-family-farms/
How are they going to enforce this..
I for one would ignore it!
“I don’t know nor can I conceive of any farm or ranch families that will take this seriously.”
They’ll START taking such things “seriously” when Department of Agriculture SWAT teams show up on their properties...
And no, I’m NOT kidding.
Remember that Amish farmer that had a team of agents swoop down on him .... for selling raw milk?
“The sooner a child is introduced to it, the better...even if they’re only pushing a Lil’ Tykes red plastic mower around the yard while Dad is cutting the grass.”
Funny you mention this.
Wait until the Department of Labor issues regulations that ban kids under 18 from operating lawnmowers, “for their own protection”, of course...
When I was 13 I was driving the family tractor. These people are power hungry, destructive, nuts.
“If they pass enough stupid, intrusive, nonsensical laws they will ultimately be able to control all of us, as we will all unwittingly become criminals. It will then be up to the government to decide what laws they will enforce and which people they will prosecute. If you get out of line, they will find a law you have broken and get at you in that way.”
This has been posted before, but worth reading again:
“There’s no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren’t enough criminals, one makes them...you create a nation of lawbreakers – and then you cash in on guilt. Now that’s the system, Mr. Rearden.”
Ayn Rand, “Atlas Shrugged”
I remember reading where the Russians would station soldiers at farms to prevent harvesting. The Democrat/Communist are well on their way to do the same thing. Control the food and energy, control the people.
LIBERals are LIBERTY Killers. Stop using the soft and fuzzy word LIBERal and call them communists or leftists.
Am no political campaign smarty, but it sure seems like the dems are rushing to do lots of things that will gen up votes to throw them out. Reverse psychology doesn't look appropriate here. They must really be having a tussel getting their lib vote out to resort to tossing them these marxist bones.
As the “technology trap” closes tighter and tighter on us, we are truly going to be screwed because soon there will be few people who will actually know how to cope with the SHTF. Society will breakdown in a matter of hours.
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