The Tractor Safety Course for Barton County youth age 13-18 will be held Saturday, April 30, from 8 am to 5 pm at Barton Community College CNH Training Facility. Pre-registration is required, so please stop by the Barton County Extension Office, 1800 12th Street (on the corner of 12th and Baker Streets) to enroll, pay the fee and pickup your notebook. The cost of the class is $15 and registration is requested by April 26.
The course is being sponsored by Barton County Extension, Barton County Farm Bureau, Barton Community College and Straub International. Donations from the sponsors and the registration fee will cover the notebook, snacks and lunch.
The Kansas Hazardous Occupation Training (H.O.T) is conducted to provide compliance with three pieces of federal legislation governing children in occupational settings. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), Hazardous Occupation Orders for Agriculture (HOOA), and Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) were established to provide protection for children in occupational settings.
In order for youth ages 14 and 15 to work for hire, they must pass a youth safe tractor and machinery operation program or complete a similar course conducted as part of a high school agriculture program. Youth who are under age 14 may take the course with the instructor’s permission, however they must be 14 to receive a Certificate of Training
The Kansas Hazardous Occupation Training (H.O.T.) program, offered through county offices of K-State Research and Extension, may fulfill the training requirements of the HOOA law. The objectives of the H.O.T. program are to provide trainees with knowledge of tractor, machinery, and other farm hazards to reduce the farm accident rate and to provide trainees with sufficient information to pass a written examination.
This will not be a course to teach young people how to drive a tractor. The driving practice and driving hours need to be completed by the employer or parent.
Participants will complete the written test at the end of the class on Saturday. The exam questions cover the tasks that have been identified as having the greatest risk of injury, critical farm hazards and the minimum competencies needed to safely operate agricultural tractors and equipment and perform other hazardous farm work.