Farm lobbyists and agricultural groups are hoping to dissuade the U.S. Department of Labor from adopting proposed regulations that would drastically reduce children's participation in family farming. Among the rules proposed, children would be barred from working with power equipment, including tractors and bailers, attending livestock auctions and exchanges, or working with "sexually mature" farm animals. While Labor Department officials claim the rule changes are aimed at increasing safety for children working on family farms, farmers fear the rules go too far and could threaten their way of life by eliminating a key source of farm labor, and limiting child participation in organizations like 4-H, which are key in teaching children how to farm and ranch.
See "Critics fear new Labor Department rules will take the family out of family farms", Monte Whaley, Denver Post, November 13, 2011