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Hey, I'm a kid and looking to learn ranching/farming skills, is this possible?

tractor12

Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2026
Messages
10
Hello, my name is Grant and I'm looking for beginner guidance and how to gain ranching/farming experience to have a better chance of obtaining and maintaining a ranch when I'm older. I want to gain hands on ranch skills. I am a ranch green-horn and don't expect much pay if any at all, my mains objectives are to gain ranching experience. I live near East Miami River Rd in Ohio, is it possible to be able to help out a farmer/rancher here to gain experience over the summer? I'm not really looking for a big or flashy ranch; even a small ranch/farm would be good for me. I am mainly just trying to do farm/ranch chores so I can gain experience. If it is possible to get a small job, how should I go about approaching ranchers/farmers. Thank you for any advice you may have.
 
Welcome to ranchers, Tractor12.
Can I ask, how old are you now?
Have you any experience running machinery?
I'm a younger teenager, I have experience with ATVs, things with motors, lawnmowers, grandpa has a tractor, but I never used it, that's about as far as it goes with farm machinery.
 
Don't get discouraged.

This information came from:

CFAES


Know The Rules When Employing Minors on Your Farm​


Anyone involved in agriculture knows it can be a dangerous occupation. The US Department of Labor's Fair Labor Standards Act has declared certain agricultural tasks to be hazardous to youth working for hire under the age of 16. These tasks are listed in the Hazardous Occupations Order in Agriculture (AgHO). After a youth turns 16 years of age, then the AgHO laws no longer apply. These tasks include the following:

  • Operating a tractor of more than 20 PTO horsepower, or connecting or disconnecting implements from such a tractor.
  • Operating a corn picker, combine, hay mower, forage harvester, hay baler or potato digger.
  • Operating a feed grinder, grain dryer, forage blower, auger conveyor or the unloading mechanism of a non-gravity type self-unloading wagon or trailer.
  • Operating a trencher, earth moving equipment, fork lift, or power-driven circular, band or chain saw.
  • Working in a yard, stall or pen occupied by a bull, boar or stud horse; or sow with suckling pigs or cow with newborn calf.
  • Felling, bucking, skidding, loading or unloading timber with butt diameter of greater than six inches.
  • Working on a ladder at a height of more than 20 feet.
  • Driving a bus, truck or automobile or riding on a tractor as a passenger.
  • Working in a forage, fruit or grain storage facility; an upright silo within two weeks after silage has been added or when a top unloading device is operating; a manure pit; or a horizontal silo when operating a tractor for packing purposes.
  • Handling or applying pesticides with the words or symbols "Danger", "Poison", "Skull and Crossbones" or "Warning" on the label.
  • Handling or using blasting agents.
  • Transporting, transferring or applying anhydrous ammonia.
A complete listing of these tasks can be viewed at: dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/childlabor102.pdf

I don't think I would want a 16 year old engaged in many of these activities.


The state agency responsible for enforcement of the Ohio Code as it relates to prohibited jobs for minors is the Bureau of Wage & Hour Administration. You may contact them at ohio.gov/divisions-and-programs/industrial-compliance/wage-and-hour/wage-and-hour or by telephone at 614-644-2223.

 
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Don't get discouraged.

This information came from:

CFAES


Know The Rules When Employing Minors on Your Farm​


Anyone involved in agriculture knows it can be a dangerous occupation. The US Department of Labor's Fair Labor Standards Act has declared certain agricultural tasks to be hazardous to youth working for hire under the age of 16. These tasks are listed in the Hazardous Occupations Order in Agriculture (AgHO). After a youth turns 16 years of age, then the AgHO laws no longer apply. These tasks include the following:

  • Operating a tractor of more than 20 PTO horsepower, or connecting or disconnecting implements from such a tractor.
  • Operating a corn picker, combine, hay mower, forage harvester, hay baler or potato digger.
  • Operating a feed grinder, grain dryer, forage blower, auger conveyor or the unloading mechanism of a non-gravity type self-unloading wagon or trailer.
  • Operating a trencher, earth moving equipment, fork lift, or power-driven circular, band or chain saw.
  • Working in a yard, stall or pen occupied by a bull, boar or stud horse; or sow with suckling pigs or cow with newborn calf.
  • Felling, bucking, skidding, loading or unloading timber with butt diameter of greater than six inches.
  • Working on a ladder at a height of more than 20 feet.
  • Driving a bus, truck or automobile or riding on a tractor as a passenger.
  • Working in a forage, fruit or grain storage facility; an upright silo within two weeks after silage has been added or when a top unloading device is operating; a manure pit; or a horizontal silo when operating a tractor for packing purposes.
  • Handling or applying pesticides with the words or symbols "Danger", "Poison", "Skull and Crossbones" or "Warning" on the label.
  • Handling or using blasting agents.
  • Transporting, transferring or applying anhydrous ammonia.
A complete listing of these tasks can be viewed at: dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/childlabor102.pdf

I don't think I would want a 16 year old engaged in many of these activities.


The state agency responsible for enforcement of the Ohio Code as it relates to prohibited jobs for minors is the Bureau of Wage & Hour Administration. You may contact them at ohio.gov/divisions-and-programs/industrial-compliance/wage-and-hour/wage-and-hour or by telephone at 614-644-2223.

Summary of hours minors may work based on age and time of year

School in SessionCannot work before 7 am or after 7 pm
Cannot work more than 3 hrs. in a school day
Cannot work more than 18 hrs/ school week
Cannot work during school hours, unless employed in a certified vocational training program.
Cannot work before 7 am or 6 am if not employed after 8 pm the previous night
Cannot work after 11 pm Sunday through Thursday
No limitations in hours per day or per week.
School not in SessionCannot be employed before 7 am or after 9 pm
Cannot work more than 8 hours/ day
Work more than 40 hours/week
No limitation on starting and ending time
No limitation in hours per day or per week

[td width="353px"]
14–15 year-olds

[/td][td width="387px"]
16–17 year-olds

[/td]​
Well that turned into a scrambled mess. So much for copy and paste🤔
 
How do I get in touch with ranchers and farmers that will hire me?
Follow the suggestions others have made above. Maybe put up ads at places like sale barns, feed stores etc. Just state pretty much what you stated here.. Sometimes rural areas will have there own little newspaper like thing where people advertise to buy, sell, or
may be looking for work, or looking for someone to hire.

Do you have a school counselor a faculty person you could talk to that might be able to help you
Some schools help their students find work in the summer months. People looking for help in this area, will check with the
schools to get in touch with students looking for work.

Do you know any older kids that might be working jobs like you are looking for? Do your Grandparents know people involved with ranching or farming ? Can somebody drive you to a few farms or ranches where you might be able to talk to the owners and ask about a job?
 
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Below is the information that got scrambled.
Screen shot worked better, I hope.

Whether you are 12 yrs. old to 120 yrs. old, looking for a job can be challenging. You just have to
persevere. And the first job you get may not be what you hoped for, but it will be a beginning.


Screenshot (321) copy.png
 
Also Ag teachers. They sometimes know ranchers looking for help.
Good luck!!
I tried messaging a farm group near me and they wouldn't even approve my post; I tried asking a cattle store near me and got no response, and then I tried asking a local hay seller and they wouldn't respond either
 

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