“When Wisconsin passed this state law, I think it made a lot of us nervous,” said Shutske, who has worked in agricultural safety for more than 30 years. “What ends up happening is we have 12- and 13-year-olds out on the highway if they’ve gone through a 24-hour certification program and if they’re working for their parents or family members.”
He said the allowance has become even more troubling as Wisconsin sees increasing vehicle collisions with farming equipment.
Data collected by the National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety in Marshfield shows that 15 Wisconsin youth died in farming-related accidents between 2017 and 2020.
Shutske said he knows farm families want to involve their kids from a young age, often with the hope that the next generation will continue the farm into the future. He said the current shortage of workers is also putting pressure on producers to rely on kids for help around the farm.
“But if we allow them to do these other things, whether it’s through the false sense (of safety) that a certification provides or operating on a public highway, whatever it might be, I think we’re doing ourselves a disservice,” he said. “The long term vision is keeping those kids involved and safe for a lifetime of agriculture, not just a short period of time before they get injured or before something happens.”
Child development experts say preteens lack physical, cognitive skills to operate farm equipment
Marsha Salzwedel, project scientist a the National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety, said years of research on when youth are ready to operate tractors points to age 14 as the best minimum. That’s based in part on physical development, looking at when youth are typically able to reach the pedals and steering wheel comfortably while wearing a seatbelt. But she said it’s also based on cognitive development in youth.
“Teens and preteens, the 12- to 13-year-olds especially, tend to have some characteristics that might not be a good fit for operating equipment,” Salzwedel said. “They tend to be impulsive; they tend to be risk takers. Their judgment is not at an adult level. So they may not always judge speed the same; they may not judge slope inclines the same.”
But Salzwedel said even kids who are age 14 may not have the maturity or physical abilities to take on the task of driving farm equipment. She urged parents to evaluate their child’s readiness individually and not be afraid to delay putting them in the driver’s seat.
The center recommends children be at least 16 years old before driving on public roads.
A former farm kid herself, Salzwedel remembers growing up being told youth raised on farms were smarter and stronger than their city counterparts.
“I see these injury and fatality incidents coming across my desk day after day after day, and it gets disheartening after a while,” she said. “There’s a lot of work on a farm, and you can get the kids involved at 7 years old or at 12 years old doing jobs. But it doesn’t have to be driving a tractor.”
It’s not easy to say how many farm families are putting youth behind the wheel of a tractor, said Shutkse. But he said the tractor safety courses offered through UW-Madison’s Division of Extension are often dominated by kids who are age 12 and 13. He said that can make it difficult for the instructors, who are often using curriculum designed for an older audience.
Click here to see more...