A column by state Sen. Patty Ritchie, chair of the Senate ag committee:
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| Ritchie |
When
most people think of dangerous jobs, farming probably does not immediately come
to mind.
However, the fatality rate for farmers is 800 percent higher than all
other American workers, with the leading cause of death on a farm being tractor
rollover incidents.
In
the past few years, I have been proud to have secured $1.2 million,
including $250,000 in the new state
budget, for a program that helps to protect farmers from tractor rollover
incidents. In the last two years, nine farmers have died in tractor rollovers.
As
Senate Agriculture Committee Chair, I have worked to ensure the continuation of
the Rollover Protective Structure (ROPS) Rebate Program, which equips tractors
with special safety equipment to avoid tractor overturns. ROPS has reduced the
risk of injury by up to 99 percent in the event of a tractor overturn.
The
10-year-old program, operated by the New York Center for Agricultural Medicine
and Health, has outfitted more than 1,500 tractors across the state. However, nearly half of the tractors on New
York’s 35,000 farms, and a majority of those over 20 years old, have no safety
equipment and pose a great risk of tractor instability.
Unfortunately,
many farmers think they are exempt from this risk and the high cost of ROPS
kits ($800 to $2,500) are two factors why farmers do not have them. The benefit of this program also rests in the
savings to the state farming community and its insurers of $12 million.
As
the 2017 Legislative Session continues, I will be working to support this
essential program, as well as other programs that will not only protect of our
state’s hard working farmers, but will help them grow their operations for
years to come.
