We know the leading cause of death on farms – tractor rollovers. Yet many tractors across the United States are not equipped with rollover protection structures, or ROPS.
A ROPS, when used with a seatbelt, is 99 percent effective in preventing injury or death in the event of an overturn. ROPS did not become standard on U.S.-manufactured tractors until 1985. Many older tractors do not have these safety features.
ROPS installation rebate programs
There are rebate programs available if you want to install a ROPS on your tractor. For example, the National Farm Medicine Center’s Wisconsin ROPS Rebate Program recently increased its reimbursement limit so that no farmer pays more than $500 out-of-pocket to retrofit their tractor, no matter the total cost of the retrofit.
View this video to learn why ROPS are important, and what could happen without a ROPS installed on your tractor.
Trouble viewing this video? Watch it on YouTube.
Thank you, we installed the rollover protection last September!