One of the reasons I quit my job almost 10 months ago was because of a conversation I had with my son coming home from daycare one night. I asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up. He stated that he wanted to be a farmer. That one comment (and a few other desires) was what finally made me see that farming is what I truly love. And if being a farmer is what my son wanted to do then I was going to do everything in my power to make sure that happens for him. My parents did the same thing for me when I told them I wanted to be a vet. They helped me find an internship at a clinic and then they forked over the money for me to go to Kansas State University. Am I vet now...well no but it is still important for me to pass down the love to my children that my parents gave to me. Give them every opportunity you can so they can follow their dreams.
The department of labor wants to say children under the age of 16 can't work on a farm. And if they do work on a farm they can only work on a farm operated by their parents. They want to regulate the equipment they can use and not use for that matter. Horses, tractors and pitch forks are a few pieces of equipment I have heard thus far that will be banned. Now I don't know about you but growing up on a farm I had a healthy respect for equipment of all kinds. I knew that when my dad started the tractor I better be headed for the house garage. I knew you didn't swing a pitch fork over your head ever because someone might get hurt. I learned how to do all these things because my parents were good examples and taught us well. I can't understand why the department of labor would want to change something that has been working for hundreds of years.
I know that I am only one voice in this big world but I took it upon my self to write to Congressmen and Senators and even the Governor of Kansas. I want to let them know how badly this could damage farming and ranching. And who really asked for the department of labors help in this situation? I sure didn't. Below are two versions of letters I used to email our government leaders. Please feel free to use them to help you write your own letters.
Senator Moran~
I would like to thank you for speaking for Kansans when it comes to the child labor laws that the legislation wants to push on to farmers and ranchers. I grew up on a farm and am now married to a farmer. I know just how important of a lesson being on the farm and working with my dad and now husband truly was and is for me. It taught me that you have to work for what you want, but that you may not get what you worked so hard for. It taught me patience and understanding whether I was willing to learn those skills at the time. It taught me to keep trying no matter what happened...never give up. I quit my job in May of last year so that I could help out around the farm and be a stay at home mom. What drove me to do this was a conversation I had with my son one day coming home from daycare that he wanted to be a farmer when he grew up. I quit work so that I could do everything in my power to make sure that happens for him. So if the legislation pushes this law it is going to make it very hard for me and my husband to help my son make his dream come true. I don't know how they can pose such a law without even asking us what we want. I know it was probably brought forth by good intentions but don't they realize that as farmers and ranchers we have good intentions to teach our children and make sure that they don't get hurt? They will drive some of us out of business if we can't continue to let families work on farms or ranches together like we have been doing for hundreds of years. Again thank you for your support. I hope you continue this journey and help us stamp out this law quickly so it won't affect farmers and ranchers any more.
Best Regards,
Jeff and Vickie Winter
Proud to be Kansas Farmers
Senator Roberts
I would like to talk to you a minute about the child labor laws that the legislation wants to push on to farmers and ranchers. I grew up on a farm and am now married to a farmer. I know just how important of a lesson being on the farm and working with my dad and now husband truly was and is for me. It taught me that you have to work for what you want, but that you may not get what you worked so hard for. It taught me patience and understanding whether I was willing to learn those skills at the time. It taught me to keep trying no matter what happened...never give up. I quit my job in May of last year so that I could help out around the farm and be a stay at home mom. What drove me to do this was a conversation I had with my son one day coming home from daycare that he wanted to be a farmer when he grew up. I quit work so that I could do everything in my power to make sure that happens for him. So if the legislation pushes this law it is going to make it very hard for me and my husband to help my son make his dream come true. I don't know how they can pose such a law without even asking us what we want. I know it was probably brought forth by good intentions but don't they realize that as farmers and ranchers we have good intentions to teach our children and make sure that they don't get hurt? They will drive some of us out of business if we can't continue to let families work on farms or ranches together like we have been doing for hundreds of years. Again please help us get the message out that we don't want this law to go forth. I hope you will help farmers and ranchers continue this journey and help us stamp out this law quickly so it won't affect us anymore
Best Regards,
Jeff and Vickie Winter
Proud to be Kansas Farmers
And to end my soap box speech about this awful law I would like you to watch these video links of Senators, Congressman, and Farmers and Ranchers stating their piece of just let us be.
This is a Congressman from Montans - Rehberg
This Senator Moran fighting for our cause.
And our Keynote speaker from this year's Young Farmers and Ranchers Conference - Chris Chinn
Please let your voice be heard and fight for agriculture and all it stands for!
I believe our children benefited greatly from working with us here on the farm. Neither has chosen to come back to the farm at this time. However, they use the lessons they learned on the farm and in programs like 4-H every day. They learned the value of hard work and know jobs don't always happen between 8 and 5. Those are valuable assets for any employer.
ReplyDeleteKim you are absolutely right! Thanks for your comments. They are greatly appreciated.
ReplyDeleteVickie