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For WCO, promoting safety doesn’t begin when someone joins a custom crew. It starts much earlier — with young people learning how to safely operate farm machinery and understanding the responsibility that comes with working in agriculture.

This year, WCO continued that commitment by supporting tractor and farm safety certification programs through our mini-grant program. WCO helped sponsor five sessions at two locations, resulting in 80 young people earning tractor safety certification.

The Food + Farm Exploration Center (F+FEC), located in Plover in Portage County, hosted three sessions — two during spring break in March and another in June. Seventeen students completed the March sessions, while another 19 were certified in June.

The hands-on courses introduce students to tractor components, safe operation, preventative maintenance, agricultural hazards, emergency response, and other skills they need to safely work around farm machinery. Students must demonstrate what they have learned through both classroom instruction and practical assessments.

WCO has supported tractor safety programming at F+FEC for three consecutive years, but this year we expanded our support to a new location: Camp Tapawingo, located near Mishicot in Manitowoc County.

Camp Tapawingo hosted two weekend certification sessions, one in April and another in May, certifying a combined 44 students from across Wisconsin. The weekend, overnight, camp format is one of the program’s unique features, giving busy families another option for fitting required training into already packed schedules.

Both programs serve youth ages 12-17 as part of the Wisconsin Youth Tractor & Machinery Safety Certification Program, which is supported statewide by UW–Madison’s Division of Extension. Youth complete 24 hours of instruction and must pass both written and driving exams to earn certification. The program helps young people meet Wisconsin requirements for operating agricultural equipment on public roads and federal requirements that apply to 14- and 15-year-olds employed on farms other than their parents’ farms.

Supporting these programs helps accomplish two goals: getting more young people trained to safely operate machinery and helping make certification opportunities accessible in different parts of Wisconsin. Tractor safety courses are an important entry point for young people who may eventually work on farms, for custom operators, or elsewhere in agriculture.

And WCO would like to do more.

The tractor safety sponsorships are just one example of what is possible through WCO’s mini-grant program. Awards ranging from $500 to $5,000 are available for projects and programs that benefit custom farming and the broader agricultural community. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, and funding is available as soon as an application is approved.

Priority is given to projects that directly benefit custom farming, involve custom operators or their clients, provide opportunities for youth, post-secondary students, or emphasize farm safety and health, leadership, teamwork, sustainability, innovation, or community involvement.

Potential projects don’t have to be large or complicated. Funding could help cover the cost of an educational event or farmer meeting, support a student working on a larger research project, or provide incentives for farmers and custom operators to try a new practice.

WCO members can help by thinking about needs in their own communities. Is there an area of Wisconsin that needs a tractor safety course? Is there a local organization with a great agricultural education or safety idea that simply needs some financial support to get started? Tell them about the WCO mini-grant program.

Applications and additional information are available at wiscustomoperators.org under the “About Us” tab. Questions can be directed to (608) 577-4345 or
execdir@wiscustomoperators.org.

Great programs often start with a good idea and a little support. WCO wants to help bring more of those ideas to life.