Tim Walberg: “I want to first thank my colleague from Iowa, Congressman Tom Latham, for introducing this very important legislation.…”

“I want to first thank my colleague from Iowa, Congressman Tom Latham, for introducing this very important legislation. Representative Latham is a long-time advocate for farmers and agribusiness, and his leadership in Congress is greatly appreciated. According to a report on MLive.com, which is a new site from my home State of Michigan, parts of the country are experiencing the worst drought in more than 20 years. Jim Spink, a sixth-generation farmer from Michigan's Liberty Township, said: It's going to be one of the years that separates those that are positioned well financially and those that are not. Unpredictability in the weather and harvest is not a new challenge for American farmers. Quite the contrary, it's a way of life. Farmers work each day under difficult circumstances, growing the food and resources necessary to power this Nation and this world. Often the presence of a son or a daughter working with his or her parents is important to a farm's long-term success. Federal labor policies recognize the support youth provide to family farms by exempting farmworkers between 14 and 16 years of age from restrictions on agriculture activities. For decades, this exemption has applied to youth working on a farm owned or operated by the parent or an individual standing in place of his or her parent.…”