FRESNO, Calif. - At Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC), Modesto Junior College and Fresno State University, Kubota is intimately involved with training courses on the safe operation of tractors. These courses help students who are high school teacher candidates learn skills and concepts that they in turn will pass along to future students. In speaking with Tom Kane, KTC’s national training manager and assistant director, Kubota Country learned that KTC is also working closely with their dealers, encouraging them be proactive in similar community endeavors by going out into the community and participating in the teaching of tractor safety. Kubota’s emphasis on tractor safety training benefits not only the colleges, but the high school students and Kubota customers involved, as well.

At Mt. SAC Junior College in Walnut, Calif., four Kubota tractors and three excavators
are being used at the Saturday class on tractor safety. Dealers Glenn B. Dorning, Ontario, Calif., and Eberhard Equipment,
Santa Ana, Calif., provide support to the program. Students from Cal Poly University
in nearby Pomona attend this class for
credits that are required to complete Cal Poly’s Agricultural Education Program.

At Modesto Junior College and Fresno State University, similar programs are taking place. In Modesto, the local dealers – Modesto and Garton Tractor Companies – have loaned tractors to the college that are being used
for safety training, along with two Kubota tractors that the college has purchased. Similarly, Fresno State University uses tractors on loan from Pioneer Equipment Company in Fresno for their training class. Students participating in the classes learn skills to help them succeed in their goals of becoming high school agriculture teachers, managing school district farms as groundsmen/operators, irrigation managers or EPA inspectors on to post technical training.

KTC provides participating schools with the Kubota training program on maintenance and several safety training programs they have developed. This Maintenance Training Program
is also available to the dealers/customers, as well as for the high school/college training programs. KTC continues to develop a comprehensive Safety Training Program that is forecast for completion by the end of 2004.

The Maintenance Training Program consists of two parts, one for dealer technicians and one for the customer. The dealer version includes a video tape with all of the engine systems and a 130-page manual that covers pre- and post-maintenance testing. The customer version is available as a DVD or video and is accompanied by a 35-page manual. Along with the video/DVD and manual is a maintenance and safety folder that includes a check list of daily inspection items that need to be performed prior to operating the tractor, the products that are required for maintenance and a place to record service actions that have been performed on the tractor.

When completed, the Safety Training Program will also offer two versions, one for the dealer to use to train their technician on safety and a customer version that can be used by the dealer to conduct customer safety seminars. Both the Maintenance Training Program and the Safety Training Program will be available to the customer through the dealer for about $6.

The partnership Kubota is striving to develop is one where Kubota dealers will actively participate with the local schools in providing safety and maintenance training in a formal classroom setting. The Mt. SAC, Modesto Junior College and Fresno State University programs offer a template for dealers everywhere to follow.

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