The California Occupational Safety and Health Division approved a rule in September that allows farmers to have long handled tools so they can work without bending over to pull weeds, becoming the first state to ban most hand-weeding.
The new rule says farms cannot require workers to weed by hand for extended periods of time unless they can show that long-handled tools are not effective and must give hand weeders extra 10 minute breaks; organic farmers who rely on hand-weeding are exempt from the rule.
EcoCover [IFOAM] organic approved mulch mat totally removes the need for hand weeding and will also remove the necessity for most if not all fertilizer requirements, EcoCover being organic fertilizer enriched.
Reference:
RuralMigrationNews