By DEBORAH BEHRENDS
Illinois Correspondent

SYCAMORE, Ill. — DeKalb County Farm Bureau has planned a Tractor Safety School for farm youth, ages 14 years and older, for February and March. The purpose of the Tractor School is to train youth who work or plan to work on farms and run tractors and machinery to properly and safely operate farm equipment.

The Tractor School is scheduled for Feb. 18-19 and March 4-5 at the Farm Bureau Center for Agriculture. Friday night classes will run from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. and Saturday classes are scheduled from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m.

Class participants are required to attend all four sessions to be certified. 
The school is designed for 14 to 15 year olds needing certification. Older youth also may participate. Additionally, younger persons, ages 12 to 13, may attend, but cannot be certified nor take the driving skills test.

Current law states youth 16 years and older, which are employed in agriculture do not need to be certified. Those 14 to 15 are required to be certified if they are employed in agriculture. The law does not apply to youth working on their family’s farm.

According to Mariam Wassmann, DeKalb County Farm Bureau’s information specialist, this is the second time they have hosted the school.
“We held the tractor school in 2008. We had 33 youth participate and 28 were certified; others were too young. Our goal is to offer it every other year, pending interest of at least 10 participants.

“We are anticipating about 15 or more this year,” Wassmann said.
Sixteen hours of classroom instruction, plus a written skills and driving test, are needed for certification as part of the National Safe Tractor & Machinery Operation Program sanctioned by the USDA.

Some at-home hours will be counted in the coursework. Also, a practice driving session is planned for Saturday, Feb. 26.

Three state-certified tractor school instructors will provide instruction. They are Amy and Ryan Rademaker and Kurt Wolken from Champaign. All three have farm, safety and equipment backgrounds.

Instructors will follow the manual developed by the National Safety Council, Penn State and Ohio State. Class sessions will also include hands-on demonstrations.  The driving portion will take place on the Farm Bureau parking lot. 
Student manuals will be provided, plus handouts, meals and refreshments. Cost for youth is $40 for DeKalb County residents and $80 for out-of-county residents, payable at the time of registration.
To register for the tractor school contact the Farm Bureau office at 815-756-6361.  The deadline to register is Jan. 28.