A grant program has been proposed to help the process along
By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com
In an effort to keep farmers safe while operating their tractors, a new bill have been introduced in the Minnesota State Legislature.
The bills, introduced by Rep. Paul Anderson, would create a rollover protection pilot grant program for farmers who retrofit their tractors with rollover protection.
“Farming is a pretty dangerous occupation, when you look at the overall number of deaths that have occurred in Minnesota,” Anderson, who also serves as chairman of the agricultural House committee told the Minnesota StarTribune. “We want to make is a safer occupation.”
Anderson’s proposal means farmers who retrofit tractors manufactured before 1987 with rollover protection could be eligible for a grant covering 70 per cent of the costs; farmers would have their portion capped at $500.
It can cost around $850 per tractor to install rollbars and approximately 87,000 tractors in Minnesota are without the rollover protection.
Ken Peterson, commissioner of Minnesota’s Department of Labor and Industry, said too many people are lost as a result of farm accidents and it’s time the Legislature recognizes the issue.
A report by the StarTribune last year showed that from 2003 to 2013, there were 210 farm fatalities and tractors were involved in a third of the incidents.
New York introduced a similar incentive program for farmers in 2006; since then, 14 farmers have credited retrofitting their tractors for surviving a rollover.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 374 farmers and farm workers died in 2012 and tractor overturns were the main reason for the fatalities.