Feb. 6, 2018 – Washington Co., WI – Does your son or daughter work on a farm during the summer? Do you hire youth to work for you during the year? Do these young people have adequate safety training?
To help improve on-farm safety for youth, a Youth Tractor Safety Certification Course is being organized by UW-Extension Washington and Ozaukee Counties.
The 24-hour course will be held on the following Saturdays – March 3, 10, 17, and 24 from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The course focuses on the safety aspects
of operating farm equipment. To complete the course, youth must attend all four sessions and pass a written and a driving exam.
This 24-hour program meets the requirements of Wisconsin Act 455, which requires youth under the age of 16 to hold a certificate of training in order to operate a tractor or self-propelled implement of husbandry on a public road. Youth must be the minimum age of 12 by the first session of the Tractor Safety Course in order to register.
Youth who drive a tractor for their parents may still do so without the formal training program as long as they do not operate the tractor on a public road. The law also does not apply to situations where a youth is driving a tractor and implement directly across (perpendicular to) a public road.
If you intend to hire any youth on your farm, make sure that they enroll in this course for your protection as well as theirs. There are penalties for not complying with the law.
The cost of the course is $35 per student and limited to the first 25 paid participants. To register, call the UW-Extension Office in West Bend at 262-335-4477, toll free in Wisconsin, 1-800-616-0446, ext. 4477 or 711 for Relay.
Registration deadline is March 1, 2018.