They're also more familiar with the farming industry. But none of them know what the job was like years ago, said Farmer, who detasseled as a youth in the early 1980s. In the old days, entire fields were detasseled by hand. Now a machine with a laser eye pulls the tassels. The mechanical pullers pluck 70 percent to 90 percent of the tassels.
Kids go through afterward to pull what's left.
The machines can't replace a kid's eyes. The carriers also cart 12 kids at a time through fields where the corn's too tall for reaching tassels. The carriers save walking and lift the kids above the plants so they can feel a breeze. But even if the work is easier, having detasseling on work records can lead to future employment, Rader and Bohlen said. I think it helps them down the road.