To some of us who live and work in the city, the farming industry can seem far removed from our daily lives even though they work hard to bring us food and other products we use every day. There have been many advances in safety for these workers but the fact is that farm workers are still at a high risk of occupational injuries and now one state where farming is very popular, and also very dangerous, is trying to take an aggressive stand to protect farm workers.

The fatality rate for Minnesota farm workers is 10 times higher than those who do not work on a farm. The leading cause of death to farm workers is tractor rollovers, and Minnesota legislators are trying to do something about it. They want to encourage farmers to add rollover protection to their vehicles, an expensive upgrade. Farmers who use older tractors without these safety features are susceptible to serious injuries from rollovers. The officials say they are looking at information from other states like New York and Wisconsin who have successfully reduced these kinds of deaths and they hope to learn from their actions.

In the past 10 years more than 200 Minnesota farmers died in farm accidents, a 30 percent increase. Deaths on the farm make up one quarter of total Minnesota workplace deaths and one in two farms have had at least one workers’ compensation claim. Wisconsin, a state who has taken steps to protect farmers from rollovers, has seen their number of farm related deaths decrease 16 percent over the last 10 years.

There are some problems in Minnesota that legislators hope to address and by doing so, hope to reduce the number of accidents on farms. Right now the state does not have a farm safety coordinator and has not had one for seven years, citing the tight budget. The University of Minnesota also got rid of farm safety training programs after budget cuts. State Senator Dan Sparks wants to change that, and hopes to fill the position of farm safety coordinator as well as reinstate safety programs. State officials want to hold more public forums on farm safety.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health says that combined with wearing a seatbelt, adding a roll bar to a tractor would make that vehicle 99 percent effective in preventing deaths in the event of a rollover. It can cost hundreds of dollars to equip a tractor with rollover protection so many farmers will not, or cannot, do so. Small farms with fewer than 11 workers are exempt from federal oversight and are rarely inspected, another problem in safety that Minnesota faces. Of the 210 farm deaths in Minnesota over the last ten years, state inspectors went out to six farms. Since the roll bar can cost $850 for one tractor, farmers may not have the money to update their tractors.

New York has a rebate program in place that will reimburse farmers 70 percent of the cost of protective equipment, but it is one of few states that received public funding for rollover safety programs. They have equipped 1,400 tractors with safety mechanisms. Though Minnesota has a tight budget, they hope to generate public and private funding to start such a program. The federal government does not fund rebate programs, though legislators continue to call for them to do so. The federal government has a $13 million fund for farm safety and health but most of it is spent on research.

It continues to be a challenging issue. With a tight budget it can be difficult to allocate the funds to where they are needed, and it requires cooperation from both legislators and farmers to try and make changes. Hopefully in a state where farming is such an important industry, the necessary changes are made to ensure that this important industry is a safe industry as well.