Farming in the shade

Not a lot of time to blog, but I am very concerned about the proposed changes to the child labor laws having to do with farms. As I understand it, if these changes are made, we would not be able to employ our own children on our farm, much less any other teens. Younger kids will not be able to help run the sheep into the chute for sorting, worming or shearing. Nor will they even be allowed to be involved with 4H, as it puts them in contact with animals. Too dangerous, I guess, to show a lamb at the county fair. Here's a link to another blog post on the topic. And here you can read about and comment on these proposed changes. The comment deadline has been extended to December 1. Back to the sweatshop (where we regularly ask our kids to use dangerous tools like felting needles and sewing machines)...

***Click here to go to this week's giveaway.*** At a farm convention this past winter, I got to see trailers for the movie "Asparagus! Stalking the American Life". I was so intrigued, I found a copy and bought it.  I just found out that this movie will be airing on Michigan PBS stations on Wednesday, April 29 at 8 p.m. EST. If you can, watch it! It shows how whole agricultural communities can be affected by the government's ill-considered actions. If you aren't in Michigan, check your local PBS schedules to see when it airs. More info:  "The hour-long film tells a compelling and poignant story about Michigan’s agricultural community and the social, economic and political factors influencing asparagus production and marketing. The “stalk-umentary” is the work of filmmakers Anne de Mare and Oceana County native Kirsten Kelly. "Original inspiration for the film surfaced when Kelly, after moving away from her western Michigan homeland, discovered that tales...

The recent  salmonella  outbreak has had people calling for more oversight in food production. Here's an editorial on why that might not be the best idea from one of my favorite websites, Local Harvest . By the way, if you're interested in buying food directly from the producer, Local Harvest can help with that. Enjoy!