WASHINGTON (AP) — Under pressure from farm groups, the Labor Department has agreed to modify a plan that's intended to keep children away from some of the most dangerous farm jobs.

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

Farm groups had complained that the rules proposed last year would upset traditions where children often work alongside their parents and relatives to learn how a farm operates. They said the original language did not include thousands of farms that are owned by closely held corporations or partnerships of family members and other relatives.