Nov. 20, 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, Dodge County UW-Extension will hold a tractor and machinery safety course in January 2019.
The 24-hour course will be held the following Saturdays – January 12, 19, and 26 from 8:30 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 three sessions and pass a written and a driving exam.
This program includes classroom instruction and a practical test and is held only once each year.
This course’s curriculum is the model for county programs across the country and includes instruction on topics: Safety-It’s an Attitude; Livestock Safety; Pesticide Safety; Electrical Safety; Confined Space Safety and many others.
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.
Registration sheets are available on the county extension’s website and must be returned to the extension’s Juneau office at 127 East Oak Street. Cost is $35 per child if registered by January 4 or $45 after that date.
Forms are available at http://dodge.uwex.edu