Convenient, up-to-date Web guide to ROPS retrofits now available online:

Farmers and technicians can determine ROPS availability by tractor make and model

 

Used in combination with a seatbelt, rollover protective structures (ROPS) have been shown to be 98% effective in preventing death and serious injury in the event of a tractor overturn. Nevertheless, more than a third of tractors in use today – and perhaps as many as 50 percent in Kentucky -- still do not have these lifesaving structures. To help farmers locate retrofit ROPS for older tractors and even gray market tractors (i.e., non-U.S. made tractors imported without manufacturer authorization), Dr. Mark Purschwitz and colleagues in the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture have developed The Kentucky ROPS Guide, now available online at http://www.ca.uky.edu/rops.

“The Kentucky ROPS Guide,” said Dr. Purschwitz, “offers full search capability that enables any tractor owner, equipment dealer or technician to determine the availability, source, and acquisition procedures for retrofit ROPS for any domestic or imported agricultural tractor in the United States for which a retrofit is available. The days of searching through scattered computer records and paperwork are over.”

Several features of the new online guide are particularly user friendly. Notably, the Guide

 

  • can be searched simply by selecting a tractor make and model number
  • provides timely information about ROPS suppliers, ROPS types, and how to order
  • includes makes and models of “gray market” tractors, particularly Japanese compact tractors, frequently being sold in the U.S. market today

 

  

Farmer's Handbook
This handy pocket guide prepared by CUCE staff in Allegany/Cattaraugus County is full of facts, figures and information to assist you in finding answers to everyday farm production questions. Check out the Table of Contents for a snap shot of the information offered in the handbook. Individual copy - $6.00 plus $2.50 shipping & handling. To place an order or for bulk purchase pricing call 585-268-7644 ext. 10 or email dmh34@cornell.edu. 

 

A 1977 agricultural engineering graduate of Purdue University (PhD, Agricultural Mechanization, 1989), Dr. Purschwitz is an Extension Professor and Agricultural Safety and Health Specialist in the UK College of Agriculture, Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering.  Development of The Kentucky ROPS Guide was supported by the Southeast Center for Agricultural Health and Injury Prevention, University of Kentucky College of Public Health, through CDC/NIOSH Cooperative Agreement U50 OH007547-07S1.

The new online Guide is designed for farmers, dealers, and technicians not only in Kentucky but also throughout the United States and Canada. It enables users to quickly determine what ROPS are available for which tractors, which companies supply retrofit ROPS, and how and where to obtain these ROPS.