MARSHFIELD, Wis.—The National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety has resource materials available for parents and grandparents who farm and for operators of agritourism venues.

Summer vacation, plentiful daylight and seasonal field work contribute to an annual increase in youth injuries on farms, the center noted recently.

Creating Safe Play Areas on Farms is a guide for designing and building safe outdoor play areas that keep children away from worksites. It’s available online at marshfieldclinic.org/safeplay, and limited hard copies are available as well. Call the center at 800-662-6900. A condensed version of the guide is available in both English and Spanish.

The center also offers the North American Guidelines for Children’s Agricultural Tasks as a resource for parents and others in assigning age-appropriate tasks for children who are 7 to 16. It is available at nagcat.org and gives detailed lists of things to consider before asking a child or teen to perform specific farm tasks.

For producers who offer farm tours, you-pick produce venues, petting zoos, festivals and other attractions on their farms, the center offers its Agritourism Health and Safety Guidelines for Children at marshfieldclinic.org/agritourism. It also offers two supplemental publications, a worksite guide and a policies and procedures checklist. Both were developed by agritourism owners and managers and can be used to review health and safety considerations already in place.