4-H tractor safety and certification course announced

Program for 14 and 15 years old seeking employment on farms

Did you know that in New York State, farm employees must be 16 years old to be hired to operate farm equipment or machinery? Cornell Cooperative Extension of Madison County will soon be hosting the 2017 4-H Agriculture and Tractor Safety Certification Program available to 14 and 15 year olds interested in gaining employment on a farm.

This seven-session course will cover many components of agriculture safety including tractor safety, animal safety, lawn, yard and garden equipment. With the successful completion of this course, 14 and 15 year olds are eligible to be hired on a farm. The first session will be held at 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 27, at Morrisville State College, Marshall Hall ag. mechanics shop and classroom.

This course is offered to teens to help reduce the number of deaths while operating equipment. To pass the course, participants must attend every session, complete the work book and pass both the written exam and the practical driving test. At the end of the course, participants will receive a certificate from the Department of Labor which is required by law to be obtained by employers from the youth before they can be hired to work on the farm.

The 4-H Tractor Safety and Certification Course class fee will be $10 for the manual and printed materials.

This program is a cooperative effort of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Madison County, the Madison County FFA Agricultural Programs and Morrisville State College. Sessions will be held at the following locations: Morrisville State College, Cazenovia Equipment, Gold Star Feed, Empire Tractor, Kelsey’s Monanfran Farms and Madison Central School.

Enrollment is required before the first session which will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. Monday, Feb. 27, at Morrisville State College.

For more information, contact Chelsea at Cornell Cooperative Extension at 684-3001 ext. 111 or email [email protected]. Course registration is available online at reg.cce.cornell.edu/_225 Use the “Filter by Host” drop down menu and select Madison County.