CARROLLTON, Ohio — Cindy Meyer, agriculture and natural resources educator in Butler County, is making plans to host a one-day farm tractor class for women this fall. Participation is expected to be high, as even more women are taking the helm of the farm duties.

Women own 13.6 percent of America’s active farms and these produce nearly $13 billion worth of goods each year. Like male farmers, they need access to business and technical information to make their farms successful.

They also need mechanical instruction from time to time, and more Ohio State University extension offices are offering one-day classes dealing with a vital piece of machinery found on each farm: The tractor.

In northeastern Ohio near Carroll County extension hosted such a tractor driving and safety class in June. Most of the 21 women attending felt more comfortable learning about tractors around other female farmers.

Machinery oil and grease provided the perfect setting for this gathering. Tractor safety was the first order of business. Sitting on seed bags in a local machine shop, the group shared a three-hour discussion about farming accidents and why they occur, methods to create a safer work environment and understanding how tractors and equipment can be dangerous.

After sufficiently adding enough fear to the group to encourage a safe attitude, the class moved outside to look at tractors and implements. While walking around the machinery, discussion centered on startup procedures, parts of tractors and the differences among equipment models and more.

Eventually, each took a seat on and controlled a tractor.

“The main types of tractor incidents include rollovers, power-takeoff entanglements and runovers,” says Dee Jepsen, extension safety specialist at OSU. “Farming equipment make agriculture one of the most hazardous industries in the country.

“Despite these hazards, new farmers, and especially women, receive little formal training on how to operate equipment. Driving farm machinery on public roads and using confined spaces like grain bins, manure pits and chemical storage tanks can be especially dangerous.”

But for starters, this group was engaging themselves with just the tractor, learning many of the basics pertaining to its operation and care. Safety was the top priority, as tractor-related injuries account for 32 percent of all agriculture-related fatalities.

In small groups, participants rotated through three stations and had opportunity to drive three different types of tractors, including operating the front-end loader in a large pile of wood chips, maneuvering with a trailer and learning basics about a PTO-operated mover.

In a follow-up survey of the class, the participants were asked if the field day helped build confidence and knowledge of tractor safety and driving. They shared their thoughts aloud as well – “Most definitely,” said Marlene Ketron. “The information will be put into practice immediately and it’ll change some of my behaviors around the equipment.”

“It was a real confidence-booster,” said Cheryl Murray. “I learned a basic understanding of tractor operation and can feel much more confident looking at different tractors and figuring out how they work. The field day taught us that the only way to get good at tractor work is to do it over and over and over again. Keeping safety in the front of our minds was another lesson learned here.”

Instructors at this one-day class stressed three factors. First, operators should have a safe attitude. Second, they should be aware of the environment and have skills to handle both manmade and naturally occurring hazards. Third, they need to know the equipment and understand safe operating mechanisms and techniques.

Modern agriculture in general is a male-dominated industry. Such one-day sessions, Jepsen says, are designed to build up women’s knowledge, their confidence and a bond among those attending. Classes for women and farm machinery are sprouting up more frequently. For more information about the tractor class in Butler County, call Meyer at 513-887-3722.