WASHINGTON (February 1, 2012)—The U.S. Labor Department has agreed to modify a plan intended to keep children away from some of the most dangerous farm jobs.

The proposal will now include broader exemptions for children whose parents own or operate farms, or have a substantial interest in a farm partnership or corporation.

Farm groups complained the rules would upset traditions in which children often work alongside their parents and relatives to learn how a farm operates.

The rules would ban children younger than 16 from using most power-driven equipment and prevent those younger than 18 from working in feed lots, grain bins and stockyards.