Fighting for Family Farming.....

This is an issue that is too personal and important for me not to throw it out there as much as possible--Who is the government to tell me that my boys can't cut hay in the 'front yard' of our house on the swather for their Grandpa or Uncle for a summer job?  I hauled so many loads of silage as a teenager in those same fields, 'moved pipes' before the handlines were thankfully all converted into wheellines, which this law would have prevented because it was on my grandpa's ranch and not my parents farm, where I worked lots of hours as a kid, also.  I get so fired up just thinking about how many kids have learned to work, and work hard on a farm for a summer job, how many nieces and nephews, grandkids, got their first taste of agricluture working on a family farm that wasn't necessarily their parents. 

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO TELL DOL WHAT YOU THINK!!!!

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Farm Bureaus Encouraged to Support Youth Labor Rule Effort
A newly launched website, Keep Families Farming, allows individual farmers, as well as organizations, to register their concerns about the Labor Department’s youth labor proposal.

(Tell your opinion, story, feelings, here:   http://www.keepfamiliesfarming.com/  )

DOL last year announced it was considering amending the department’s regulations concerning agricultural jobs that are off-limits to minors. Despite the department’s announcement last week that it is going to re-propose the “parental exemption” part of the rule, farmers and ranchers are still worried about the proposed changes, which could significantly affect the way families work their operations.

Through Keep Families Farming, individuals can tell their own stories and file comments. In addition, the site also allows organizations to register their support of the effort. AFBF strongly supports this effort and urges state Farm Bureaus to list themselves as a supporting organization and to encourage their members to file their own stories and comments about how the rule will affect them.
Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) plans to use the website’s stories and comments during a meeting with DOL officials later this month.

Also, DOL will soon hold a meeting to discuss with stakeholders the issue of the parental exemption and the department’s effort to re-propose the rule. AFBF will participate. If your state Farm Bureau is contacted about the meeting, please contact AFBF labor specialist Paul Schlegel at pauls@fb.org or 202-406-3687.

Check out the AFBF News release about the DOL's decision to reconsider this issue:
http://www.fb.org/index.php?action=newsroom.news&year=2012&file=nr0202.html


And the words of American Farm Bureau President:
Statement by Bob Stallman, President, American Farm Bureau Federation, Regarding Child Labor Rule Decision


WASHINGTON, D.C., February 1, 2012 – “The decision today by the Labor Department to re-propose the ‘parental exemption’ in the child labor rule is a positive step, but much more work is needed. We will continue to work with the administration to address our concerns with the rule. Any final regulation must make sense, not infringe on the traditional rights of family farms and not unnecessarily restrict the ability of young people to work in agriculture. As DOL’s proposed rule stands currently, that is not the case.
“Farm work has always played a significant role in the lives of rural youth across the country, whether they are milking cows on their grandparents’ farm or harvesting apples as a summer job. DOL’s rule would have a detrimental effect on family farms and would create an even tighter supply of farm labor when it’s already in short supply.
“Farm and ranch families are more interested than anyone else in assuring the safety of farming operations. We have no desire at all to have young teenagers working in jobs that are inappropriate or entail too much risk. But, laws and regulations need to be sensible and within reason – not prohibiting teenagers from performing simple everyday farm functions like operating a battery-powered screwdriver.
“We appreciate Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack’s diligent work on the issue and look forward to working with USDA and DOL further on establishing a rule that respects the importance of youth farm work in rural America and the importance it plays in our system of family-based agriculture.”