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
As someone who grew up on a farm, this is appalling. I have already linked your post to my own blog and posted my thoughts. I hope we Americans start getting a lot more bold in our approach to our own government; otherwise we’re screwed.
While I am sure the intentions behind writing it are good, it appears to me to be unnecessarily inflammatory.
First, from my research, the rules that are being put into place are simply an extension of child labor laws already in place. They apply to children employed on farms, not to children helping on their family farms. It doesn’t take away a parent’s right to decide what their child can do, it takes away an employer’s ability to put a young employee at risk. These rules seem aimed more at safety than limitations, and safety of children should be everyone’s concern.
Secondly, the article title implies that there is a quote from Mr. Obama stating that video games are better for children than farm work, but the article doesn’t provide that, or even link to a source or article where the president states that this is his opinion. If you have access to such a statement, I would appreciate seeing it. The only reference to video games at all comes from the writer’s point of view that children disallowed farm work would have nothing left to do but play games.
While a blog is certainly personal, and you have every right to vent frustration over laws that you are unhappy with, I think it is important to remember that with a large following of readers you have some responsibility to present facts alongside your opinion. I don’t think that has been done in this article title.
I completely agree. Inflammatory nails it on the head. With such extreme views and comments, it’s no wonder we as a country cannot come together. This only flames the fire.
I take so much from this blog nutrionally, but the rhetoric gets old.
My kids high school has an ag program, which is really weird, being that we’re in a city which is a commuter suburb of NYC. I have volunteered in their million dollar building, and what they assigned me was viewing and cataloging their video library. The FFA is overrun with Monsanto propaganda. I don’t know about 4-H. I think it behooves all of us to educate educate educate about the true way to improve our health via fresh real food.
I really wouldn’t fault Obama more than any other politician, since Michele Obama is working toward basic health education. Is it perfect, no. Baby steps.
There is a game for farming on Facebook. My son, wife, and granddaughter do it. I told them why don’t you just have a real garden instead.
Our Founding Fathers must be rolling over in their graves right now to see what’s happening to this country they pledged their sacred honor and risked their very lives to build. Too many today rationalize incremental increases in government power and control. Uneducated in American history and the facts of the workings of the economy, they are convinced by those in gov’t to deny their own intelligence and abilities and buy into the lie that gov’t knows better than they how to conduct their own lives. While important and relevant, discussing the minute details of what this law would or would not cover is missing the BIGGER point. This is NOT what the founders had in mind. Thomas Sowell explains the real life impact of laws like this brilliantly in his book Basic Economics.
This is no surprise, as our government seems to have lost any wisdom and common sense that it ever had. Control is an evil that seems to take over a person/group of persons… The sad fact is that when people/government agencies get together to “make” laws that are unjust, it affects THEM too. You may not see it at first, but it finally comes around. For a little example, watch the movie, “Boy in the Striped Pajamas.” Clearly, evil does not discriminate when you set it loose. Almost everyone on this blog is in agreement on one area..these laws are unjust. The Bible is clear about a nation that allows itself to become ruled by unjust laws.. It is an abomination. I am encouraged that so many ARE paying attention and speaking up. Thanks for bringing up the hard topics Sarah.
So, after reading both articles posted, my daughter would still be prevented from working at the family ranch? It’s owned by the grandparents…I guess another letter to Obama will be in the works…
While it is true that the press release and proposal do “say” that the family farm is exempt be aware that there is also this little phrase all over the proposal “except in certain occupations found and declared by the Secretary to be particularly hazardous, or detrimental to the
health or well-being of such workers” This causes me to pause. One person, presumably Secretary Solis by the wording, has the authority to declare the occupation hazardous and therefore nullify the parental exemption. I also had an article where she was quoted to that effect. It may be sensationalistic to say that they want to make regulations against kids and their farm chores, but it may also be accurate in implementation.
Thanks for pointing that out, Leslie. I wasn’t aware of that, and that’s important information.