University of Maine Cooperative Extension and the nonprofit Shaw Cherry Hill Farm in Gorham teamed up to offer a tractor safety program where young graduates get certification that allows them to get summer work on farms.

Jason Lilley, cooperative extension assistant professor, said students 14 and 15 years old are required under federal rules to successfully complete the safety course to operate farm equipment. However, youths working on their own family farms are exempt from the requirement.

“We know that the majority of non-fatal accidents go unreported,” Lilley said in an email. “That said, we know that it happens all too often. Our goal is to make course participants aware of the risks around equipment … and the personal mindset that is required to stay safe. We also hope to give participants the tools needed to speak up when they see a dangerous situation, increase on-farm efficiency, increase job opportunities and engagement in agriculture.”

The students gain skills driving real farm tractors and implements provided by Shaw Cherry Hill Farm. “They’ve been a great partner,” Lilley said.

One tractor safety graduate responding to a survey, Lilley said, spoke up, averting a potential personal injury at a farm when he watched a young fellow worker kick hay into a baler.

Gorham Middle School student Travis Neily, 14, is one of 16 students enrolled in the most recent course in Gorham and all students receive hands-on experience driving tractors with implements. Neily hopes to work driving equipment for a Buxton relative this summer.

Safety course instructors besides Lilley are farmers Jeff Grant of Gorham and Tim Bartlett of New Gloucester, along with New Gloucester resident Allison Pollock of 4-H development programs for Cumberland County.

Lilley’s students have to be at least 14 to earn a certificate in the program, which is recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Under federal law, the minimum age is 14 “for employment outside of school hours in any agricultural occupation except those declared hazardous,” such as driving farm tractors and a variety of associated equipment.

Under exemptions, “minors who are at least 16 years of age may perform any farm job, including agricultural occupations declared hazardous by the Secretary of Labor, at any time, including during school hours.”

Lilley reports multiple success stories from past graduates. “We have had several youth take our course and immediately start work operating equipment on farms. For example, we offered a special independent course for a family in Cherryfield,” he said. “The boys completed the course just in time to support a local farm with their wild blueberry harvest.”

Many farms are struggling to find workers, “with equipment operation being a high-level need,” Lilley said.

In a cooperative extension survey of 29 respondents between 2021 and 2024, 69% reported changing at least one safety practice on a farm, 76% got a job or took on greater responsibility after the course, and 90% have shared information from the course with others, with the most common being information about dangers of tractor rollovers and entanglement with equipment.

For a sliding scale of course fees or future class dates, call Lilley at 581-8368 or the Cooperative Extension office at 781-6099, or go to extension.umaine.edu/agriculture/tractor-safety.