Unless urgent action is taken in Washington, D.C., or Harrisburg, the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau believes the following new restrictions and requirements will be placed on all Pennsylvania farms soon after March 1 (and to the best that can be determined, only in Pennsylvania).

These restrictions and requirements will apply whenever farm trucks, farm tractors, and other agricultural vehicles are used on any state or township road, including just crossing the road:

• Persons younger than 18 prohibited — Anyone younger than 18 will not be able to legally operate a farm tractor or truck if the tractor or truck is pulling another vehicle, such as a farm implement or trailer, and the vehicles together weigh more than 17,000 pounds. This includes a farmer's children.

• Medical certification required — Any driver on a public road on a farm tractor or truck will need to be medically tested and have a certificate declaring the driver to be "physically qualified" if the tractor or truck is pulling another vehicle and the vehicles together weigh more than 17,000 pounds. Drivers of farm trucks more than 17,000 pounds also will need medical certification whenever the truck is operated more than 150 miles from the farm, even if the truck is not operated outside of the state.

• Driver's logs and employer record keeping required —Drivers of trucks or tractors towing implements or farm trailers will be subject to the same hours of service requirements of trucking companies and their drivers if the vehicles together weigh more than 17,000 pounds. It will include minimum periods of break time, limits on hours driven between breaks, along with record keeping, commonly known as drivers' logs. Farmers will be responsible for getting and keeping records of all the paperwork federal regulations require trucking companies to keep and maintain.

• Vehicle inspection and maintenance required — Drivers of farm tractors and trucks pulling another vehicle that together weigh more than 17,000 pounds. will be required to conduct pretrip inspections and complete written post-trip reports on the function of vehicle's safety equipment. Inspections and reports must be filled out each day the vehicle is used. Farmers will be required to immediately repair any defects noted in the report. Farmers also will be required to make sure the written safety reports are being kept and keep and maintain records of all reports made.

The above plain language descriptions do not include all elements of the restrictions and requirements, but provide a sense of how your farm operation will be impacted.

Luke Fritz is executive director of the Butler County Farm Service Agency.