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rollover frame is $500-$900, and that of a cab, $l,200-$2,000. New tractors can cost between $5,000 for small ones of about 15 horsepower (HP), and more than $40,000 for the super-sized ones of more than 90 HP. Pinched by depressed prices for farm commodities and high interest rates, small farmers feel they can’t afford the safeguards, much less a brand new tractor. (Last year, these factors plus severe drought sapped demand for farm equipment so much that dealers in several states had to sell lawn mowers and non-farm tools to keep their businesses going.)
However, the key to improved farm safety may lie less in the law and machines than in people. Glen Hetzel, for instance, thinks it’s unlikely that tractors can be made much safer than they are without a substantial increase in cost and corresponding loss of efficiency. The emphasis instead should be on operator training and consciousness-raising.
Mr. Hetzel, an agricultural engineer at Virginia Tech, speaks at farmers’ meetings and on radio programs on safe working habits. He reminds them, for instance, to take the time to fix faulty equipment rather than continue operating it. Or, if they must use it, to let other family members know where they will be working that day.
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