Banks High School hosted a tractor safety training course in April for several young drivers who will seek employment at local farms.
The Oregon Department of Agriculture requires that farmers and ranchers that employ minors ensure they have completed and passed a tractor safety training course.
In addition to the practical aspect of certification for employment purposes, there is a hope to bring back a tractor skills competition at the Washington County Fair, said Matt Evans.
Evans is the Banks FFA Alumni President for the 2024-25 school year. With Banks High School Career & Technical Education agriculture teacher Tim Eggleston, Evans was helping teach tractor safety on a volunteer basis on a rainy Sunday in the parking lot near Kelly Field at the Banks High School.
The class is a mix of hands-on driving and online and classroom learning. Each student must have already passed a classroom portion to drive a tractor. On Sunday, students were learning how to tow a trailer, navigating around a series of cones and backing up.
Evans thanked a number of people and entities for making the class happen, including Eggleston for his volunteer work, the Banks High School for the use of its lot, Jim’s Market and Main Street Pizza for speedy lunch services, and the Washington County Farm Bureau, which helped sponsor the event.
Katelyn Duyck, from Salem, wants to be certified to work on her grandparents’ farm this summer.
“It’s hard. This is the first time I’ve ever driven a tractor,” she said.
Once certified, students can drive any farm equipment, but for things like combines, farmers will typically apply additional training to their employees, Evans said.
Next year, he hopes to have different types of tractors available for class participants. Last year, 14 students were in the class, with six participating this year.
Most participants this year were from the immediate area or have family ties to rural western Washington County.
One student was from Carlton, another from Hillsboro.
Tyler Green, from the Hillside community, said he wants to find work as a farmhand.
“I’d love to work as a farmhand,” Green said. “It would be a fun job to have.”
He also wants to join the FFA tractor competition.
He found the online portion of the class long, but the driving portion enjoyable.
Jack Evey, a Manning resident, also hopes to have employment options beyond “working at a store,” he said.
Sam Lindseth, a Buxton resident said a mixture of boredom with school, expanding employment opportunities, and competing drove him to obtain his certification.
Chas Hundley is the editor of the Banks Post and sister news publications the Gales Creek Journal and the Salmonberry Magazine. He grew up in Gales Creek and has a cat.
