Date of News Release: Tuesday, June 5, 2007

The New York Rollover Protective Structure (ROPS) Retrofit Rebate Program has distributed close to $200,000 in rebate funding for farmers to retrofit unprotected tractors. Overturns are the most frequent cause of fatalities in the farming community and roughly half of the tractors in New York lack these safety devices.

In order to address this safety issue, NYCAMH has organized this retrofit program providing rebates of 70% (up to $600) for the entire cost to retrofit a tractor, as well as toll–free hotline assistance locating and pricing ROPS kits. The initial response to the program has been quite promising with nearly 700 farmers contacting the hotline in the first six months of the program. To date approximately 300 farmers have been granted rebate funding.

Due to the encouraging response from the farming community, another round of rebate funding has been granted by the New York State Legislature. This program is available to all New York farmers. Interested individuals should contact the hotline by calling 1-877-ROPS-R4U. It’s a call you can afford to make.