Law Requires Young Farmers To Train
Comments:
American youths who plan to work on farms this spring should be using the winter months to obtain their safety certification. The U.S. Labor code requires that young people between the ages of 14 and 15 years old must be trained in the safe use of of tractors, farm machinery and other hazardous activities in the agricultural industry.
Young people can meet this requirement by obtaining their Hazardous Occupation Order in Agriculture certification (HOOA). Teens working on their own family’s farms are not required by law to be certified. However, evidence suggests that it’s beneficial for these teens to take part in safety training as well. Statistics show that between 1992 and 2000, 76 percent of agriculture fatalities that involved people under 16 years of age occurred while working for the family business. It’s estimated that as many as 300 children per year die in farming related accidents.
Those wishing to obtain their HOOA must undergo twenty-four hours of classroom-based study during which a trained instructor will explain and review safety issues that relate to farming. These include how to correctly handle machinery, the proper use and storage of chemicals, how to work with livestock, safe driving practices for the farm and highway, and working in confined spaces.
After students have completed these lessons they will write a 100 question knowledge test. Those who pass with a score of 75 percent or higher move on to take the skills and driving test. The skills test makes students demonstrate their ability to safely enter a tractor, start it up, back-up and implement hitching. For the driving portion of the test they are asked to navigate the tractor and its attached implement around a series of cones, stop in a set area and then back the machinery up a specified distance.
For the most part young people are expected to undergo training and obtain their certification prior to looking for work. Employer are rarely responsible for providing the training or covering its costs. Each state is responsible for its own training programs and HOOA certification, or equivalent training, may be offered through local 4-H groups, education outreach programs or community centers.
To found out more about HOOA certification or how youths in your area can receive agricultural safety training visit Hazardous Safety Training in Agriculture online at http://abe.sdstate.edu/hosta/ .