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Tractor Talk Discussion Forum

age to drive a farm tractor

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bellami

06-30-2005 18:32:50




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I am not sure if this is the right place to find out, but how old do you have to be to drive a farm tractor in virginia? I know kids drive them early but is it legal and what happens if they are not old enough for a drivers permit? I know you have to be 15 1/2 to drive a car. Any info out there or to tell me if i can find out somewhere else?




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Seth_ia

07-01-2005 19:17:07




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 Re: age to drive a farm tractor in reply to bellami, 06-30-2005 18:32:50  
I started driving a tractor by myself when I was ten. It was a JD 4430 w/ soundgaurd cab(pretty safe). The first thing I did by myself was rake hay. I had a lot of practice driving before I was turned loose. JD tractors with the sound gaurd cabs easily sit a kid and an adult. I don't even remember the age when I was let to steer and eventually brake and clutch. I know my uncle has said that he let me stand between his legs and try and steer the combine when I was five.

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The answer is sixteen

07-01-2005 12:52:24




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 Re: age to drive a farm tractor in reply to bellami, 06-30-2005 18:32:50  
!



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dbear

07-01-2005 12:20:05




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 Re: age to drive a farm tractor in reply to bellami, 06-30-2005 18:32:50  
I can remember sitting on my mom's lap and steering, or at least trying to steer, a 9N thru my uncle's orchard when I was just 5. Not sure how much I was actually doing then, as it had tendency to pull to the right, and my mom kept having to bring her back on course before we ran into a tree.

As far as operating a tractor by myself, I think I was closer to maybe 7 or 8, and by then it was Ford 5200.

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VernMN

07-01-2005 11:40:27




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 Re: age to drive a farm tractor in reply to bellami, 06-30-2005 18:32:50  
I broke out driving tractor at 7 years old making hay using a Farmal M. I was too small to step the clutch and the M was strong enough to start in gear. The kill switch and starter were my Stop and go. At 8 I grew enought to step the cltch on a Farmall H and graduated that year from Hay to cutting grain. By 9 I was dragging fields, spreading fertilizer.

Later I heard my dad was critized for working me so young. And now days probably the child abuse advocates would prohibit that kind of thing. But 60 years ago on a farm it was a natural thing to start work at a young age.

Mental maturity is as important as physical.

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Bruster

07-01-2005 05:11:16




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 Re: age to drive a farm tractor in reply to bellami, 06-30-2005 18:32:50  
Most states have laws for hireing young people, but they don't always apply to family members. I was plunked on a 2n Ford ( had to stand on the clutch to depress it ) to pull the hay wagon. By age 8 I was disking & brushhogging on a JD B



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Don-Wi

06-30-2005 21:44:53




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 Re: age to drive a farm tractor in reply to bellami, 06-30-2005 18:32:50  
Here in Wisconsin I drove on the highway when I was 7. You are supposed to go through a tractor safety course to be legal, and you have to be 11 or 12 to take the course. They then test you in a open parking lot w/ a tractor and implement(usually a manure spreader) on handling around cones(PVC in the cone and a golf ball on top) and backing up. After that, you are legal to drive on the road. I've never had any problems though whe I was younger, even would wave at MR. Osifer while driving past. I've been doing feild work since I was 5, so I've already got 15 years under my belt, mainly Massey and Oliver, but I've driven almost every other brand as well, all on the road.
Donovan from Wisconsin

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fred kobs

06-30-2005 20:49:55




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 Re: age to drive a farm tractor in reply to bellami, 06-30-2005 18:32:50  
was 9 when i got put on the H w/a loader. At 10 I spent 10+ hrs/day on 44 Massey hoeing. Nowdays I assume that is all illegal or immoral. Best check w/your DMV Fred



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Mark - IN.

07-02-2005 05:26:15




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 Re: age to drive a farm tractor in reply to fred kobs, 06-30-2005 20:49:55  
You are probably right, best to check the with his state. My father died when I was 10, and I was driving and operating an H as well, before that. Legal? Might not have been. Immoral? Sure as hell wasn't back then. But, neither was riding a bicycle without a helmet, knee and elbow pads, and an airbag built into the handle bars. Nor riding with Dad in the non-Onstar equipped Ford pickup with a steel dashboard and non-seatbelt equipped. Holy cow, is amazing how this big old world's managed to rotate on it's axis and around the sun for millions of years without flying apart, not having all of the protective legislation and all to keep things together.

Mark

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twopop

06-30-2005 20:01:25




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 Re: age to drive a farm tractor in reply to bellami, 06-30-2005 18:32:50  
i cant supply proof,but .i have heard that most states have passed laws stating that to drive a tractor on the highway,one must have a drivers license,depends on whos kids your talking about and where the driving is taking place.if its your kids on your farm any age will do.you cant hire kids to work on your farm if they are under 16



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DaveInMI

07-01-2005 01:56:54




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 Re: age to drive a farm tractor in reply to twopop, 06-30-2005 20:01:25  
In MI the rules governing employment of minors doesn't extend to family members working on the family farm. I don't know about laws from other directions with impact on the subject.



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RayP(MI)

07-01-2005 16:26:30




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 Re: age to drive a farm tractor in reply to DaveInMI, 07-01-2005 01:56:54  
Dave is right, family members are not covered by Michigan"s laws. Run into different situation with outside of family employees however. We even ran into trouble with our tractor driving contest at the 4-H fair last year. Ended up using a John Deere M in order to get under a horsepower restriction, so younger drivers could participate.



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