The skid-steer loader, a hugely popular machine that allows farmers to shovel manure and handle other tasks without getting their hands dirty, is also driving up farm deaths in the Midwest.
In Iowa, a farmer was run over by a skid loader in 2011 when the idling machine slipped into gear while he washed it.
In South Dakota, a dairy worker died last year when he used a skid loader with a bypassed safety device.
In Minnesota, Gordon Zibell got crushed between the bucket and frame of his skid loader in 2013 when he used the machine to lift a mower. Investigators blamed the accident on malfunctioning safety features that were either disabled or modified. A neighbor told deputies that most farmers in the area did the same thing, according to the accident report.
"It's heartbreaking to me that the machine Gordon loved to use so much seems to have been the cause of his death," said his widow, Anne Dudek Zibell.
Since 2004, at least 16 farmers and their family members have died in accidents that involved skid loaders in Minnesota. In many of the fatal accidents, safety controls that should have prevented trouble were apparently disabled or not functioning.
"They have built in a boatload of safety features, but ingenious people find ways to work around safety," said Mark Hagedorn, a Wisconsin agricultural agent who developed a training course after several fatalities on dairy farms.
Across the United States, skid-steer accidents are on the rise, fueled by the popularity of the machines, which resemble mini-bulldozers and are highly maneuverable and versatile.