Rep. Paul Anderson, R-Starbuck, speaks during a press conference Monday in Rogers to highlight farm safety leading up to “Farm Safety and Health Week” Sept. 18-24. Joining Anderson at the podium are, from left, Minnesota Department of Agriculture Commissioner Dave Fredrickson, Lt. Gov. Tina Smith and Ed Terry, Randolph Future Farmers of America advisor. Terry and students from his chapter provided Anderson’s House Agriculture Policy Committee with testimony advocating for a state tractor roll bar program during the 2016 session. They received one of the first sets of roll bars when the program started, for use on a tractor in their chapter’s garden.
ST. PAUL – Tractor safety legislation led to enactment by Rep. Paul Anderson, R-Starbuck, is being highlighted as the state participates in “Farm Safety and Health Week” starting Sept. 18.
Anderson successfully authored a bill creating a volunteer Rollover Protective Structures Rebate Program during the 2016 session. The program encourages the installation of safety equipment on tractors – mainly older ones – by reimbursing farmers and schools at least 70 percent of the cost of purchasing, shipping, and installing a rollover protection kit.
“Farming is a challenging occupation and, unfortunately, physical danger is a factor,” said Anderson, himself a farmer. “The cost of installing safety equipment such as roll bars can be prohibitive, so the goal of this legislation and the voluntary program it created is to help make protective devices more affordable and increase usage.”
In addition to $250,000 in state funding for the ROPS program, several agricultural companies provided $40,000 in donations. The program launched in July and Anderson said already nearly all the funds set aside for the first year have been allocated.
Anderson, along with other state officials and members of the agriculture industry, recently conducted a press conference in Rogers to hail the success of the ROPS program and discuss farm safety in general.
Reports show that, between 2003 and 2013, workplace fatalities in Minnesota’s agricultural industry rose by 30 percent. Another studies indicate that, while the occupational fatality rate for farmers is 800 percent higher than other industries, roll bars and seat belts are 99 percent effective in preventing death and serious injury in the event of a rollover.
“We made strides with the roll bar program, but our work is not complete and we will continue exploring other ways to elevate farm safety,” Anderson said. “The fall harvest is underway and I encourage farmers to be cautious – especially as they log long hours – and also urge citizens to be extra patient if they encounter slow-moving vehicles on our roadways.”
More information about the ROPS program is available on the Department of Agriculture website.
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