UW-Madison’s Farm and Industry Short Course program is offering a new Farm Electrical Maintenance and Safety short course in July. The training is designed for farm owners, field managers and others who work on electrical infrastructure on the farm.
Participants will learn about the laws, procedures, tools, protective gear, and other basics for staying safe while troubleshooting or maintaining electrical equipment, says FISC Outreach Program Manager Heather Gayton.
The new short course will be held in two parts. The first session will take place at the UW Hancock Agricultural Research Station on the morning of July 11. The second session will be on July 16, with a morning classroom session at Hancock ARS. The afternoon field experience will be at Flyte Family Farms in Coloma.
“This training was requested by a number of producers looking to expand their workforce professional development. In particular, they wanted to be able to offer electrical safety education – for themselves and their teams – to help reduce the risk of injury or death on the farm,” Gayton says.
Session 1
July 11, 2024, 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. – Hancock Agricultural Research Station
Topics: Laws governing the electrical work done by farm workers, updates to Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations, plus federal standards and also best practices for maintaining electrical systems.
Field experience: Adams-Columbia Electric Cooperative will host a demonstration at Hancock ARS, covering the safety gear worn by electric line workers as well as explaining the impacts of contact with energized power lines.
Please note: Short course participants are welcome to stick around for the Hancock station’s Potato Research Field Day, a separate event, which also runs during the afternoon on July 11.
Session 2
July 16, 2024, 8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. – Morning location: Hancock ARS
Afternoon location: Flyte Family Farms, W13450 Cottonville Ave., Coloma
Topics: Equipment, practices and federal requirements to safely test and troubleshoot electrical equipment, plus the basics of grounding and bonding.
Field Experience: Flyte Family Farms will host an on-farm demonstration. Attendees will also have the opportunity to do a mock electrical inspection walk-through with licensed electrical educators.
Learn more: https://go.wisc.edu/electricalsafety
