An estimated 200,000-800,000 children and adolescents work in the United States as migrant agricultural laborers, either alone or with their families. This digest describes the statutory and economic factors contributing to the presence of children in the fields and the impact of this labor on their health and educational progress. The Fair Labor Standards Act, which outlaws or restricts child labor in most industries, allows 14-year-old agricultural laborers to work unlimited hours and permits 16-year-olds to perform hazardous jobs. Few complaints of child labor are filed, and accidents result in only minimal fines. Economic necessity causes most child labor, as over half of migrant farmworkers live in poverty. In addition, real wages of farmworkers have declined in the past decade, and payroll practices work to the detriment of farmworker families. The health and well-being of children and adolescents who work in agriculture are jeopardized by long hours of labor, dangerous working conditions, and lack of sanitary facilities in the fields. Farmworker children, like their parents, are not fully covered by workers' compensation benefits. Pesticides are an ever-present danger on the farm, and children are more likely to be harmed by pesticide exposure. Educational impacts of migrant child labor include entering school at an older age, high dropout rates, disrupted school attendance, and inability to concentrate in school due to fatigue or illness. Contains 12 references. (SV)