Hello. My father is a mechanic for a store that sales and repairs tractors, lawn mowers, four-wheelers, etc in southern Arkansas. He mostly repairs tractors at the store, but must drive to nearby farms to repair tractors on location once or twice a week. He was told when he started, about three years ago, that he did not qualify for overtime because he was farm labor. My father accepted the employer at his word but later found out that only one other employee is not paid overtime. Last year he asked about this and was told that he and the other employee are paid higher than the rest, which isn't surprising because my father has about 30 years experience, the other employee has over 10 years experience, and all the other employees have less than 2 years experience. On that occasion the employer told him that if he wanted overtime pay he would have to have his hourly pay reduced drastically to make up for the overtime pay. I don't think he made that offer ever again but stuck to the farm worker card.
Does my father's occasional work on customer's farms, while on the clock for his employer, prohibit him from overtime pay? Thank in advance for any replies. I've been trying to research it on the internet and my mind feels like it's being tied in knots trying to keep up with all these legal clauses.

Nope, I'm not buying it. "Farm Laborers" are exempt from the overtime provisions of the state labor laws. However, your father is not a "farm laborer". He is a mechanic. The fact that ever so often he repairs the machinery on the customer's farm property does not make him a "farm laborer". He should contact the state Dept. of Labor to file a claim for unpaid overtime.