ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Tuesday, November 26, 1996             TAG: 9611260063
SECTION: CURRENT                  PAGE: NRV-4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG

NEW FARM SAFETY PROGRAM APPROVED

A new farm safety training program created by Virginia Tech has received approval from the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry. It will teach youths working on farms, in gardens or in orchards how to properly operate farm equipment and machinery.

The Department of Labor and Industry prohibits minors under 16 from operating hazardous farm equipment, such as tractors over 20 PTO horsepower. The regulations do allow minors 14 and older to operate the equipment if they have passed an approved safety training program. The requirements do not apply to minors working on a farm owned or operated by a parent.

Glen Hetzel and Stanley Burke of Tech's Biological Systems Engineering Department headed the project. The university saw a need for such a program because many traditional safety training programs are no longer available.

For more information, call 231-6615.

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