WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Grange, this week, applauded the Dept. of Labor for withdrawing their proposed regulations to alter child labor rules as they apply to children working in agriculture.

National Grange President Ed Luttrell said the organization commends the  decision because as written, the proposals would have had a negative impact on America’s family farms and ranches.

“As a family organization, the safety and well being of our youth is a top priority for the Grange, because we know that we are training tomorrow’s farmers and ranchers,” Luttrell said. “Bestowed with that responsibility, we understand that it is necessary to provide a safe and secure setting where our youth can develop their interests in agriculture and carry that knowledge into the future.  regulations that prohibit youth from obtaining that knowledge are ultimately counterproductive to the larger legacy of training tomorrow’s growers.”

The National Grange and numerous other agriculture organizations had decried the proposed regulations in late 2011, citing concerns that such a move might lead to the waning interest of future producers in agriculture and many other social consequences outweighing potential benefits to changes in regulation.

“The Department’s proposals, though well intentioned, were far too encompassing and limiting to farming youth,” Luttrell said. “We applaud their decision to withdraw, and believe this to be a victory for America’s farming families.”

Established in 1867, The National Grange, a nonpartisan, nonprofit fraternal organization, is the oldest agricultural and rural community service organization. With more than 2,100 local chapters, the Grange has evolved into the nation’s leading rural advocacy organization and a major benefactor to local communities. There are more than 160,000 members across the United States.

CONTACT: Amanda Leigh Brozana
Communications Director
Phone: (202) 628-3507 ext. 102
or 888-4-GRANGE ext. 102
abrozana@nationalgrange.org

ORANGE – Kermit Welch Richardson, 82, of Richardson Road, died Saturday, Jan. 7, 2012, at Central Vermont Medical Center in Berlin. His family had been at his bedside.

Born Oct. 20, 1929, in East Orange, he was the son of Harold and Ada (Welch) Richardson. He attended elementary school in East Orange and graduated from Bradford Academy in 1947, as class valedictorian and was an outstanding high school orator.

On Feb. 10, 1951, he married Margaret Grace Goulette in Orange. Most of their married life had been spent at their present home.

In earlier years, he worked at the Vermont State Tax Department. In 1963, he and his wife opened the Richardson Insurance Agency and the Richardson Associates Real Estate office in Bradford and continued that association until the business was sold in 2003. He also maintained insurance agency offices in Barre and Chelsea which are currently owned by his son Mark Richardson.

From 1951 to 1953, he served in the U.S. Army as a medic and had been stationed in Germany.

He was an avid gardener, rose grower, reader and enjoyed attending his grandchildren’s sporting activities.

At the age of 14, he joined the Riverside Grange 455 in West Topsham and had served several terms as Master. He had been a member for 69 years. He was Master of the Vermont State Grange from 1970 to 1974, and is was current Chairman of its Executive Committee. As a member of the National Grange, he had served as Chaplain, Lecturer, Overseer and served eight years as National Grange Master.

Other memberships included the Orange Alliance Church and the Bradford Masonic Temple.

Kermit was a devoted citizen of the town of Orange, having served as Town Moderator, school board member, Justice of the Peace, town Representative and was a past President of the Orange East Supervisory School District.

His business affiliations included the Orange and Grafton area Board of Realtors, the National Bank of Newbury, the Farmers and Traders Life Insurance Co. of Syracuse, NY, the Connecticut Valley Development Corp. and the Independent Mutual Agents of New England.

Margaret and Kermit had been co-chairmen of the Orange Bicentennial Celebration Committee and Heritage Festival for several years.

Besides his wife, he leaves two daughters, Sue Perrault, of Orange, and Beth Farnham and her husband, David, of Chelsea, and two sons, Kim Richardson and his wife, Joan, of Newport, and Mark Richardson and his wife, Sherri, also of Chelsea, as well as nine grandchildren: Tina Bearce; Keith, Justin, Andrew and Alex Richardson; Jaime Perrault, Heather Comstock and Melinda and Brian Farnham, and 14 great-grandchildren.

Besides his parents, he was predeceased by twin sisters, Helen Largin and Herma Clement.

Kermit will always be remembered for his devotion to his wife, his children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, his community and his friends.

His funeral will be held Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012, at 1 p.m. in the Orange Alliance Church.

Later interment will be made in the Brookhaven Cemetery in Orange.

Friends may call at the Hooker and Whitcomb Funeral Home, 7 Academy St., Barre, VT on Wednesday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Vermont State Grange Educational Aid Fund, in care of Merton Snow, 153 Twitchell Hill Road, Shaftsbury, VT 05262 or to the organization of choice.

National President, Ed Luttrell, kicks off the new year with a message to Grange members about goals and accomplishments for 2012.

National President, Ed Luttrell, wishes a very Merry Christmas to all Grange members and encourages fellowship and focus on family during this holiday season.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Grange recently took a stand against proposed regulations by the U.S. Dept. of Labor that would limit the ability of teenagers to assist in farming operations across the country, calling the proposal “destructive” to the agriculture industry.

National Grange Legislative Director Nicole Palya Wood said the regulations take aim at many of the daily chores of rural youth and seek to drastically narrow the exemptions provided to these family farms by redefining farm ownership.

“With farming operations becoming more and more efficient and complex, this new language could leave many of our rural youth prohibited from the farms that are their heritage,” Wood said Tuesday.

Ed Luttrell, president of the National Grange, America’s oldest agriculture and rural America advocacy organization, said the proposed regulation goes against the grain of the American values many Grange members hold dear.

“So many of us grew up on farms, and our parents and neighbors helped us learn work ethic by giving us the opportunity, when we proved ourselves ready, to have more and more responsibility,” Luttrell said. “This proposed regulation is big government stepping in to tell us when a child is ready to learn the value of work and become a contributing member of their community based on age, not on maturity. American values and a good work ethic, start at a young age, and the lessons these kids learn even doing small chores are invaluable.”

The regulation, Luttrell said, “will have a direct and detrimental impact to agriculture, and would further exacerbate one of the most serious problems we as a nation face: the failure to see value in hard work.”

“In our organization, many, if not most, of our leaders learned our work ethic on the farm. Even though many of us chose not to become farmers directly, we learned everything about what it is to put in a full and hard day’s work, to have accountability and to do a job with pride from our time on the farm,” Luttrell said. “The idea to limit on farm employment for teens is destructive to not just the agriculture industry, not just specific farm families, but to their entire generation.”

Many groups have argued against the proposed regulations, citing an even more removed view of the agriculture industry for the American public.

Luttrell said the proposed regulation would “limit the exposure young people have to farming and could have a lasting impact on agriculture.”

“Most children and teens have never been on a farm. Those who have, and who wish to work on one, are more than likely going to be the producers for the next generation,” Luttrell said. “If we don’t engage young adults in farming practices and encourage their interest in agriculture, we may threaten our very supply of food and fiber. Consider that a majority of current farmers are 55-years-old or older. Without training and encouraging youth to farm, we are soon going to run out of knowledgeable and motivated agriculturalists. This proposal makes that an even greater likelihood.”

Wood also cited recent predictions that show U.S. farmers and ranchers must double production by 2050 to fulfill global food needs.

“We must commit to a safe but vibrant and expanding legacy of future growers, farmers, and ranchers rather than restrict their access, education, and involvement in family farms,” Wood said.

Luttrell said the U.S. Dept. of Labor’s citation of safety concerns regarding teenage farm labor are valiant but the proposed regulation as a whole is more hurtful than helpful.

“As a family organization, the safety and well being of our youth is a top priority for the Grange, because we know that we are training tomorrow’s farmers and ranchers.  Bestowed with that responsibility, we also understand that it is necessary to provide a safe and secure setting where our youth can develop their interests in agriculture and carry that knowledge into the future,” Luttrell said.

Luttrell also said the proposed regulation would make farming and ranching an even more expensive endeavor, and said burdensome and unnecessary regulations are something the Grange actively lobbies against.

“I think this regulation is unnecessary and is going to add to the cost of doing business in America,” Luttrell said.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The recent FCC application withdrawal for the proposed AT&T/T-Mobile merger will significantly delay the build-out of rural broadband, the National Grange said Friday, and further put rural Americans behind their urban and suburban counterparts.

The withdrawal came after the FCC circulated a staff analysis on November 23, that expressed a severely negative response to almost every argument AT&T made as to why this merger was a positive move for the public.

The FCC staff analysis claimed that the arguments which AT&T put forth regarding to expanding coverage from 80 percent to 97 percent, without government subsidies, would occur anyway due to carrier competition.

National Grange Legislative Director Nicole Palya Wood said she, like many members of the 145-year-old nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, is extremely frustrated by the news.

“The assumption made by FCC staff that market competition in these high-cost rural areas will drive private entities to make these investments on their own is incredibly unsubstantiated,” Wood said Friday. “Our members suffer greatly from a digital divide that leaves them without affordable high-speed internet access, let alone competition which provides them a choice of providers in their areas.”

National Grange President Ed Luttrell said Friday, “Grange members have for nearly a decade supported rural broadband expansion as a way to enhance business, educational and health options in rural areas. Many of the Grange’s more than 160,000 members face inadequate or no access to high-speed internet.”

“The rationale that build-out will happen anyway, stands in direct conflict with every statement the FCC has put forth in the National Broadband Plan, and its press releases over the last two years, not to mention that it ignores a commitment made President Obama to make broadband build-out a top priority. Rural Americans lost big with the withdrawal of this merger application,” Wood said.

Wood said she hopes the agency will take a closer look at future proposals and assumptions made in the staff analysis.

“I would highly encourage FCC staff to explore this argument when looking into further applications,” Wood said.

Established in 1867, The National Grange, a nonpartisan, nonprofit fraternal organization, is the oldest agricultural and rural community service organization. With about 2,200 local chapters, the Grange has evolved into the nationʼs leading rural advocacy organization and a major benefactor to local communities. There are more than 160,000 members across the United States.