Bills introduced to encourage farmers to add roll bars to tractors

State officials are moving to address dangers posed by old and unstable farm tractors by creating Minnesota's first rollover protection program with a pot of state and private money.

Rep. Paul Anderson, R-Starbuck, has introduced two bills that would allow Minnesota to create a rebate program similar to a successful campaign in New York, where more than 1,400 tractors have been equipped with roll bars aimed at helping farmers survive an accident.

Anderson and other legislators also are hoping to find additional money for safety training, which has been drastically reduced in Minnesota following budget cuts to University of Minnesota Extension services.

"Farming is a pretty dangerous occupation, when you look at the overall number of deaths that have occurred in Minnesota," said Anderson, who serves as chairman of the House committee that oversees agricultural policy. "We want to make it a safer occupation."

A Star Tribune report last year showed that the number of Minnesota farmers killed in work-related accidents soared more than 30 percent in the past decade. From 2003 to 2013, a total of 210 Minnesotans died in farm accidents, which now account for one-quarter of all workplace deaths in Minnesota. Tractors were involved in a third of those fatal accidents.

Anderson is seeking $250,000 in state funds for the tractor program, which is a fairly small request in legislative circles and should help in winning votes for the proposal, according to other lawmakers. The bill also has drawn the support of two key members of Gov. Mark Dayton's Cabinet: Ken Peterson, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry; and Dave Frederickson, commissioner of the state Agriculture Department.

"We think it is an important initiative," Peterson said. "We lose too many people in farm accidents. We think the Legislature should recognize that this is a problem."

Anderson and other lawmakers also are trying to obtain funding from big companies involved in agriculture, including ADM, CHS Inc., Cargill and General Mills. Anderson said he hopes to raise about $50,000 in private sector dollars for the tractor program.

"It is certainly something we'd have a high interest in, and we'll be tracking it and staying connected with Rep. Anderson as this goes forward," said Lani Jordan, spokeswoman for Inver Grove Heights-based CHS, the nation's largest farmer-owned cooperative. "We have done a lot of funding around agricultural safety."

With $300,000, Minnesota would have one of the largest tractor rebate programs in the nation. New York, which created the first rebate program in 2006, now receives $250,000 per year in public funding.

Under Anderson's program, farmers who retrofit eligible tractors with rollover protective devices could receive grants covering 70 percent of the costs, with a farmer's out-of-pocket costs capped at $500.

The cost of rollover protection is typically cited as one of the leading reasons more farmers don't voluntarily upgrade older tractors. Installing roll bars costs an average of $850 per tractor.

To be eligible for the Minnesota program, tractors would have to be built before 1987, shortly after manufacturers began voluntarily putting crush-proof cabs and roll bars on all farm tractors.

Altogether, 40 percent of tractors in use on American farms lack rollover protection, federal records show. In Minnesota, that means about 87,000 older tractors lack the devices.

When used with a seat belt, roll bars are 99 percent effective in preventing death or serious injury in a tractor overturn.

In New York, at least 14 farmers who upgraded their tractors with state money reported surviving a rollover or other life-threatening incident on their modified tractors. Another 153 farmers reported a "close call."

Anderson's proposal will likely be one of many seeking a slice of the state's $900 million budget surplus. Dayton is expected to announce his plan for dealing with the surplus in the next few weeks. The upcoming legislative session starts March 8.

Jeffrey Meitrodt • 612-673-4132