Economic necessity causes most child labor on farms. Nor is the economic status of farmworkers improving. Payroll practices also work to the detriment of farmworker families. Frequently, the earnings of whole families are listed in payroll records under the name of the male head of household. This practice keeps other family members from earning the minimum wage or receiving credit towards Social Security, unemployment compensation, or workers' compensation benefits.
Work takes place before, during, and after school hours.
These figures understate the extent of the problem because they exclude youngsters who work but do not live on farms. Children on farms climb ladders to prune trees, use knives to harvest crops, carry heavy buckets full of produce, drive or ride on tractors, and care for animals. Many work long hours, from early in the morning to late in the night. Job-related injuries and fatalities are caused primarily by tractors, farm machinery, pesticides, farm animals, falls, and drowning. Farmworker children, like their parents, are not fully covered by workers' compensation benefits when they are injured on the job.