Tractor safety training is being offered for 14- to 15-year-olds.
By Katelyn Barthol, agriculture agent
Marais des Cygnes District Extension Office
The Marias des Cygnes and Frontier Extension Districts will be hosting a Hazardous Occupation Training (H.O.T) class. This class is required for 14 and 15-year-old youth who want to operate farm tractors on farms other than for their parents.
The only time a 14-15-year-old would be exempt from needing this training would be if he or she works for their parents on the family farm. This training is required however, if the “family’s farm” is a partnership, incorporated, or the youth is working on a grandparent’s farm. This training is also required if youth is planning to use a lawn mower or tractor larger than 20 horsepower.
This year the class will be much different than in years past. Youth will be required to complete an online course from Penn State University called the National Safe Tractor and Machinery Operation Program.
There is a cost of $10 for the online course. The online course will cover the book portion of the tractor and machinery safety material and will account for about 16 hours of training. The youth will also be asked to watch five short safety videos and write three or four sentences about what they learned from the videos.
Once the book portion has been completed with a passing grade, Penn State will have the youth print their passing certificate. Youth will need to bring their certificate and their sentences describing what they learned from the videos watched to their local Extension Office by June 12.
On Saturday June, 15, we will have an eight-hour day of in-person safety training that will end with a tractor driving test. Youth that pass the driving test will get their completed Certificate of Training. Saturday June 15 will start at the Pomona Community Building, 219 Jefferson Street, Pomona, before traveling to a farm for the driving test.
To register for the hazardous occupation class, youth must call their local Extension Office or sign up by using this link https://kstate.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8dz41qSIsdIjqyW. Once registered, a confirmation email will be sent to your email address with a PDF of the Tractor Safety Manual, website address to create your account and to sign up for the National Safe Tractor and Machinery Operation Program, a list of videos to choose which you want to watch, and a consent form for use on Saturday, June 15.
Youth will be transported by the instructors to a local farm and back to the Pomona Community Center for the driving portion of the day, June 15. Lunch and snacks for the day are sponsored by the local Farm Bureaus.