Farmhands often work 60 hours without getting OT pay. New York wants to change that.

The thousands of people paid to plant corn, pick apples and milk cows in New York often work long days, six days a week — and earn overtime only after 60 hours of labor.

The state is now looking at lowering that overtime threshold. New York could possibly join California and Washington state in phasing in a 40-hour overtime rule for farm hands, a threshold common in other industries.

"We need a better quality of life," said veteran dairy worker Lazaro Alvarez. He is among those who say the change is long overdue for an estimated 55,000 agricultural workers in New York, many from Mexico, Guatemala and other countries outside the United States.