The information below has been supplied by dairy marketers and other industry organizations. It has not been edited, verified or endorsed by Hoard’s Dairyman.

The Wisconsin Rollover Protective Structure (ROPS) Rebate Program has been funded for a sixth consecutive year, enabling Wisconsin farmers to retrofit rollbars onto their tractors at a reduced cost. The program is run by the National Farm Medicine Center at Marshfield Clinic Research Institute, with philanthropic support from the Auction of Champions.

Need a tractor rollbar? September 17-23 is National Farm Safety and Health Week. Celebrate by contacting the ROPS hotline, 1-877-ROPSR4U (1-877-767-7748), or go to www.ropsr4u.com and click on Wisconsin. The program reimburses up to 70 percent (maximum of $865) toward the total cost of purchasing, shipping and installing individual ROPS.

A ROPS is an operator compartment structure (usually cab or rollbar) intended to protect farmers from injuries caused by overturns or rollovers. More than half the tractors in Wisconsin do not have this protection. ROPS did not become standard on U.S.-manufactured tractors until 1985. A ROPS, when used with a seatbelt, is 99 percent effective in preventing injury or death in the event of an overturn