Capital & Main, L.A. Times Win Sidney Award for Reporting on Child Farmworkers

Robert J. Lopez, Barbara Davidson and Lorena Iñiguez Elebee have won the December Sidney Award for an investigation that found California is failing to protect underage farmworkers who labor in harsh and dangerous conditions to provide Americans with fresh fruit and vegetables. 

The investigation, produced by Capital & Main in partnership with the Los Angeles Times and McGraw Center for Business Journalism, analyzed more than 40,000 state pesticide records and included more than 18 interviews with young farmworkers and their parents. The youths spoke of being exposed to toxic pesticides, dangerous heat and other hazards.

“You just gotta suck it up, and you gotta work through it,” said Jose, a quiet 14-year-old who was among those who spoke about toiling in toxic fields without shade or extra water breaks.

Lopez, an independent journalist and fellow at the McGraw Center for Business Journalism, who reported and wrote the two-part series for Capital & Main, said he spoke with more than 100 underage and adult farmworkers, experts, labor and agriculture industry advocates and state and local officials while combing through tens of thousands of records and visiting — and revisiting — farms across the state’s agricultural heartlands. The stories were illustrated by Davidson, who photographed the youth in their work clothing, which obscured their faces and protected their identity. The graphic illustrations were created by Elebee.

Among its many findings, the stories revealed that from 2017 to 2024, the state issued just 27 citations for child labor violations to the thousands of agriculture employers across California. The fines totaled $36,000, though the state collected only $2,814.

“These reporters uncovered a regulatory system in disarray,” said Sidney judge Lindsay Beyerstein. “California is failing these young workers.”

Following publication of the stories early this month, state officials said they were launching new enforcement actions to protect underage farmworkers, including enhanced coordination among two state agencies charged with inspecting work conditions in the fields.

Other efforts are underway, nationally and in California, to address issues involving underage farmworkers, including legislation to change the federal minimum age for farmworkers from 12 to 14.

Beyerstein interviewed Lopez by email:

Q: What sparked your interest in this story?

A: I was interested in general topics involving farmworkers, like the lack of affordable housing or living in substandard housing. Through early conversations with sources, I learned about issues involving underage workers at a national level. I sharpened my focus on minors who labor in California’s agricultural industry. As I learned more, I knew this is what I wanted to write about and that it had potential to be a very important story.

Q: Give us an overview of your investigative strategy?

A: In the case of this investigation, I had never covered the agricultural industry or farmworker conditions. So I researched what journalists had written about underage farmworkers. I also reviewed studies that had been done by academics and agencies such as the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. And I talked to labor advocates who work with minors in the fields, including in California. 

I decided to focus on California, in part because there had not been any journalism investigations that examined systemic working conditions for minors and assessed how well frontline state agencies charged with enforcing child labor and other workplace laws were doing their jobs. I could also be more effective in holding agencies accountable by concentrating my reporting on a single state. Another key factor in my decision making was that California has the most productive agricultural industry in the U.S. and is one of the largest in the world.

I knew that I needed to interview as many young field workers as possible, as well as review enforcement records for the various state and county agencies that are responsible for regulating child labor, workplace safety and pesticide safety laws. I ended up speaking with 61 young workers and reviewing more than 50,000 state and local records detailing inspections, violations and money collected for civil penalties. I drove nearly 15,500 miles across California for this investigation, which took 25 months to complete.

Q: How is Trump’s immigration crackdown affecting the kids you interviewed and their families?

A: As with other immigrant families across the nation, the raids have created a climate of fear among farmworker families. Nearly all the youths I spoke with were born in the U.S., but their parents are undocumented. The parents also work in agriculture. So the crackdowns have caused additional stress for the children. They worry that their families will be torn apart if immigration authorities swoop down on the fields. 

Q: What impact has the story had so far?

A: Within days of my report being published, state officials announced that they were launching joint task force operations and efforts to improve data sharing among enforcement agencies, actions intended to increase the number of inspectors in the field and identify violators for potential investigation. California lawmakers are also calling on state pesticide regulators to develop educational materials designed for underage farmworkers to inform them of their rights under the law and how to report problems.

Q: Did anything unexpected happen while you were reporting this story?

A: The photojournalist who I collaborated with, Barbara Davidson, and I realized in early 2024 that the presidential elections could lead to a new administration and new policies that could affect farmworker families that lack documentation. 

Clearly, we had no idea how the elections would play out or what would happen afterward. But as journalists, we have a responsibility to protect our sources, and we were not about to do anything that would cause problems for the children or their families. So out of an abundance of caution, Barbara came up with the plan to take portraits of the youth in their work clothing, which includes bandanas that obscured their faces. This protected their identities, which was very important because the children are from mixed-immigration status families. As it turned out, we made the right decision.

Q: What did you learn from reporting this story that you will carry forward to your next assignment? 

A: This was my first project as an independent reporter, and I learned that there is a big journalism world out there and financial support to do ambitious projects outside the boundaries of legacy media.

Q: If you could make one change to improve the lot of child farmworkers in California, what would it be? 

A: Improve working conditions, including safety issues and matters involving fair wages.

Read part one of Capital & Main’s investigation into the health and safety of child farmworkers in California. Lea en español.

Read part two: Child farmworkers exposed to toxic pesticides amid lax enforcement. Lea en español.