1/17/2012
By CHRISTINE METZ The Lawrence Journal-World
LAWRENCE - From driving tractors to vaccinating calves, farm families worry that changes to federal laws governing what work youths can get paid to do on the farm could change their way of life.
Last fall, the U.S. Department of Labor proposed changes to the rules that prevent young workers from being paid to do certain tasks in the agriculture industry. Those laws, known as agricultural hazardous occupations orders, haven’t been updated since 1970. The intent is to bridge the gap between rules for farms and the more stringent rules that youths not working in agricultural settings have to follow.
"Children employed in agriculture are some of the most vulnerable workers in America," Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis said.
But farmers, including those in Douglas County, say family farming isn’t like any other industry. And those rules would go beyond changing how farmers do business to eroding the fabric of farming communities.
"I think there are a lot of families who couldn’t do what they do if they don’t have their kids helping them," Brenna Wulfkuhle said.
Wulfkuhle, who with her husband, Mark, operates Rocking H Ranch three miles south of Stull, has three daughters under the age of 16. The family also employs a high school student. For Wulfkuhle, there is much in the proposed changes that raises concerns.
"To me, there is a lot of integrity and a lot of just good work ethic that comes from kids that are raised in agriculture or work in an agriculture background," Wulfkuhle said.
Children of parents who own or operate a farm would still be exempted from the new regulations. But what isn’t clear are what rules apply to youths who work on their grandparents’ or aunt and uncle’s farm, rented land or on a farm that is part of a business entity, corporation or partnership. And that last item is an issue for many local families who have turned farms into corporations for estate-planning purposes.
"We are one of the smaller farms in Douglas County as far as conventional agricultural," said Clint Hornberger, a fifth-generation farmer in southern Douglas County. "We do operate as a corporation. We formed in the ’80s to make the transition from one generation to the next a whole lot easier."
Here are some of the other proposed changes:
•  Paid workers younger than 16 couldn’t operate almost any power-driven equipment, such as tractors, ATVs and grain elevators. The worker also couldn’t ride as a passenger on farm machines when they are being driven on public roads.
•  Paid workers younger than 16 couldn’t help with certain animal-related chores, such as branding, breeding, dehorning, vaccinating, castrating or treating sick or injured animals. They also couldn’t help herd animals into feed lots or corrals when on horseback or using trucks or ATVs.
•  Paid workers younger than 16 couldn’t work inside a grain silo or bin or manure pit.
•  Those 18 or younger would be prohibited from working at grain elevators, feed lots, stockyards, livestock exchanges and livestock auctions.

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