Today and tomorrow I’ll be in Kansas City, meeting with farm broadcasters at their annual convention.   I plan to visit with them about the unintended consequences some proposed rule changes could have on the agricultural community in general and on the seed industry in particular.

One topic of discussion will be probable impacts of tightened rules regarding Child Labor.  The U.S. Department of Labor in September proposed changes that could prohibit children from working on a farm or ranch that is not directly owned by their parents.  Under the proposed rules, farm workers under the age of 16 would be prohibited from working in cultivation and harvesting crops. They also would be prohibited from working at country grain elevators, feedlots and other agribusinesses.

Ironically, the same “family farmers” that regulators are trying to exempt from the proposed rule changes will likely be impacted the most.  Ownership arrangements of farming operations have changed over time as farms and ranches pass from one generation to the next.  It’s common for siblings to jointly own and operate farms.  It’s also common for extended families and neighbors to form legal partnerships.  The proposed new child labor rules, however, could fundamentally alter these dynamics.

Regulators must closely examine how production agriculture operates today.  They need to gain a better understanding of how business is conducted in rural America before these changes are implemented.  But, they can’t do it without your help!

More than ever, the agricultural community needs to unite and be heard.  Submit your comments before December 1, 2011 to the Department of Labor.  To submit written comments, reference RIN 1235-AA06 in your letter and mail it to:

The Wage and Hour Division
U.S. Department of Labor, Room S-3502
200 Constitution Ave., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20210

Click below for additional background information and how proposed rule changes will impact agriculture.

• Opinion: Changes in the Child Labor Laws Affecting Farm Kids
• Proposed labor laws could limit youth farm work
• Proposed Child Labor Regulations in Beef Today

Farmers have a history of organizing movements, and this fall they rallied behind a social media movement known as #occupycombine on Twitter.com.

“This movement is built on the ideals of ethics, family, hard work and transparency in how food is raised,” wrote Ohio farmer Mike Haley on his blog, Haley Farms. “This is a peaceful movement.  There are no demands, only prayers for good weather to help get the crops harvested in a quick and safe manner.”

The #occupycombine string was started by North Dakota farmer Mark Rohrich, according to Harvest Public Media.   Susan Crowell, editor at Ohio’s weekly Farm and Dairy, soon began using the #occupycombine hashtag on her Twitter feed.  Then she blogged on The Social Silo that #occupycombine was really about the rise in social media that connects folks in farm country.

“The OccupyCombine movement has nothing to do with our national economic discontent, but everything to do with the growing social media camaraderie and community that is building connections within agriculture online — a community that is also extending its voice to the nonfarm community in powerful ways,” wrote Crowell.

What’s not to love about a movement that has everything to do with connecting with “similar” people online – people who share a passion for helping provide a safe and abundant food supply for the growing world population?  Of course, I joined in the fun! Below is a sample of tweets from @LathamSeeds on Twitter.com:

• 20 Oct: Operation #OccupyCombine underway in NE #Iowa 2day! En route to Fayette County, one of the prettiest (& most productive) places statewide.
• 25 Oct: Rode a few rounds & could see line where fungicide was applied. Yields increased 20-40 bushels. Whole field average 200 bu/A. #occupycombine
• 25 Oct: On prowl 4 a combine in Wright County, IA! With so much barren ground, it should be easy 2 spot. #Harvest11 nears completion. #OccupyCombine (If only I would’ve remembered the hash tag!)

For a virtual snapshot of my combine rides this fall across Latham Country, Click Here.

In cooperation with the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA), Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds President John Latham recently hosted tours for a Chinese delegation consisting of 17 seed company managers and government officials plus their interpretator.

“The purpose was for Chinese leaders to see there is not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to the U.S. seed industry.  The U.S. model is a great example of how family-owned businesses and multinational companies all play an important role in the seed industry,” says Lisa Nichols, ASTA’s director of international programs.  “China is currently in the process of revising its seed law.  It’s our hope that the information gained from their U.S. visit will help change China’s policies, practices, and regulations to best support a modern seed industry.”

This U.S. visit is just one example of how the ASTA has been working over the past five years with China’s key seed industry and government stakeholders.  Last summer Bernice Slutsky, ASTA’s vice president of science and international affairs, traveled to Beijing where she met with individuals and agencies involved in the seed industry.

“Our goal is to be an advocate for policies that will enable our members to successfully conduct business in major markets, including China,” said Slutsky.  “Policies surrounding intellectual property rights, variety registration and technology transfer are of utmost importance.  In the longer term, we would like to see China update its system from the 1978 International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) standards to comply with the UPOV revisions of 1991, which is a more robust system.”

Working together and forming agreements is about making sure companies are protected and about facilitating the movement of seed on a global level, added Slutsky. “It was an honor to host such a distinguished group of seedsmen from China,” says John Latham.  “The U.S. and China are very dependent on each other in this world economy. We need to continue to find better ways to work together to feed a growing world population. This visit was a step in that process.”

Watching tractors and grain carts move through the field alongside combines is a common sight during harvest time in the Midwest, but a new project from Kinze Mfg. could make the grain cart operator “optional” once tractors are programmed to run themselves.

The Kinze Autonomy Project uses autonomous agricultural equipment to complete many tasks on the farm with minimal direct human input.

“It’s our goal to help reduce grower fatigue and help them make the most of their harvest,” says Susanne Kinzenbaw Veatch, vice president and chief marketing officer at Kinze, in a company news release.

Kinze has also designed an autonomous planter that doesn’t require an operator in the tractor cab.  A field map, including field boundaries and any predesigned non-field areas like waterways, is loaded into the global positioning system.  Once the farmer takes the tractor to that field, the system generates the most efficient planting method.

“As growers ourselves, we know how crucial it is to be productive during the short planting and harvest windows,” adds Kinzenbaw Veatch.  “With this technology, producers can set the equipment to run all night if necessary.”