Child labour laws

[ASRG]

Alberta rejected putting farm workers under the Occupational Health and safety Act. Now the unions and opposition parties are on their case in a big way and further are calling for child labour laws, down on the farm!
Now I don't know about most of you but my old man used to stick me out on a hay rake from about 7 years old! Same thing with summerfallow. I guess I was an abused child or something? For my eigth birthday I got a .22 rifle!
I should sue him! Can you sue someone who is dead?

[vvalk]

What will the hutterites do? they will lose 30% of their work force

[sumdumguy]

If I were a politician I would not mess with this
one. I will never forget how important and valued
I felt when I drove the Allis at 7 years old while
my older brothers picked bales.

Because I couldn't see everything over the
steering wheel I hit a few bales and was yelled
at, but how I loved the job!

Child labour or self confidence enhancement?
Guess what, I drove everything when I was very
young as did every kid I knew. I don't remember
us rolling anything but maybe a cigarette behind
the barn.

[ASRG]

sumdumguy: We were exploited and abused! I don't know how we ever survived!
We should start a class action suit!
.....and hey, I did the roll your own cigarettes too, at a young age! I remember the old man caught me and my sister smoking behind the barn! He gave us hell and said you GD kids....no smoking until you are 14!
......He would probably be jailed today!

[charliep]

Same category as everyone else in that I started driving a baler at about 11. Having said, is the situation the same today as 20 years ago. The size of equipment and risk involved have changed. My guess is that the practices of farm families have also changed to reflect the realities. For anyone with under 14 year kids, do you treat them the same with equipment as your parents did you or are there other realities that come into play?

One of the saddest tragedies is when a young person is killed or severely hurt in a farm accident. I realize the question is about the level of government involvement in your business but hopefully there is also some level of what should be good safety practices in a farm business.

[wd9]

Agreed Charlie, red neck quads today are
bigger then the tractors we learned to
drive as kids.

[northfarmer]

My 10 and 13 year olds did a fine job straight cutting and picking swaths with our combines.

This is considerably safer task to start in the field than the open air JD4010 and JD 55 combine I started on with my dad.


Told them I used to ride in the hopper on the combine as it was the safest place to be given a open platform combine and an abrupt stop.

Modern machinery may be big, but they have cabs and rops, seatbelts and electronic safety features.


I listened to that crap on CBS radio yesterday at noon. These progressives would regulate us all to death. You cannot fix "stupid".

Farm kids that get "safely" exposed to the work and technology on our modern farms will be much better equipped to get along in life than the xbox playstation generation they belong to.

[sumdumguy]

I remember riding in the back of the grain truck
with my cousins. We stayed in the bax the whole
time during combine dumping and hung on for
dear life to the box straps when the load was
being dumped into the auger. Today our parents
would be charged for allowing that.

I agree that quads qnd snow mobiles are so
dangerous now. The speed and size is the
problem. The many times we rolled our skidoos,
we never got hurt and the snow cruiser was such
a pig, but man did we enjoy jumping flax piles
with skiis. Those were the days!

My kids were raised without strapped in car
seats, driving very young and freedom to explore.
I am thankful they survived our terrible
upbringing.

[wmoebis]

You guys bring back lots of memories. I always thought that doing dishes and house chores should be classed as child labour. The rest was fun for the most part.

[ASRG]

I don't know about the bigger farm equipment thing Charlie!
That old Oliver 77 was pretty open and raking hay as fast as you could go (until the old man caught you!) on rough old side hills was pretty hairy!

Looking back on it....I was sure glad I was raised in that era.

[Choice2U]

We used to have a snow crusher with a reverse...one could run as fast as the thing went. We went down the "big hill" in an old car hood and then the snow crusher would pull 7 of us back up on the same car hood. That's where I learned to appreciate the snow cruiser.

[Hopperbin]

Stollen my 16 year old daughter from her mother this year actually it was her choice to live with me she was a city girl. Two days ago she went from driving the lawn mower to driving the 9120 6 or more miles per hour over hills and through rutted up drainage ditches. Actually taking off over 1000 bushels per hour. Had a tear coming when she first got behind the wheel and I covered it up with a smile laugh. Did an initial walk around the combine to point out dangers and how the machine works. Actually her first job is on the farm, she will benefit from this for sure.

[blackpowder]

Interestingly enough the only people who can shift my old trucks are the ones raised the old way. wish I had the Oliver 88 yet to teach my kids how to double clutch. Wouldn't ask them to spray with it though!