Washington Co., Wi – The Washington County Farm Bureau, Allenton Fire Department, and Farmers Implement are hosting their third annual Youth Farm Safety Program this spring. The dates for the 3-day program are March 21, April 11 and April 18. 2026. This program was brought back to the county after the tragic death of a young farmer, Curtis Nehm.
By state and federal law youth between the ages of 12 to 16 must be certified with this training to work on a farm. Those between the ages 14 to 16 must complete the course successfully to operate farm equipment on roads.
The first class will cover farm safety, confined spaces, waste storage-and-handling, and laws of operating on the road. In the afternoon the class will travel to the Krueger Dairy KDFC to tour a working dairy operation with qualified instructors.
The second class will focus on reaction times, pre-operational procedures, tractor components, minor equipment repairs, dealing with storage handling, and an entrapment demonstration. During the day there will be time spent with qualified instructors on actual operation of a farm tractor.
The final Saturday includes fire extinguisher training, first-aid training, a written exam, and practical driving test.
The course material used for the training is Gear Up For Safety developed by Purdue University. There will be homework for each student to complete prior to class sessions and followed during days of training.
More than 40 volunteers make up the training corps. These volunteers are from the Wisconsin Antique Power Reunion Club, Allenton Fire Department, employees of Farmers Implement along with Farmers Grain and Feed and Helena Corporation.
There is $50 fee that helps offset the costs of lunch each day, and premiums each youngster receives when they successfully complete the course.
Registration forms are available at https://wfbf.com/about/counties/washington/ or by contacting Allen Dornacker at 262-689-7283 or Ron Naab at 262-716-7292.
