With the heightened risk of injury and/or death to Iowa agricultural producers from unsafe equipment, Decision Innovation Solutions was asked to conduct an analysis of continuing to operate tractors without Rollover Protective Structures (ROPS).
The study estimates that:
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87,974 (67.5% of estimated total) tractors not required at time of manufacture to have a ROPS in Iowa do not have a ROPS of any type
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42,416 tractors not required at time of manufacture to have a ROPS in Iowa do have a ROPS of some type (“ROPS Cab” plus “ROPS, No Cab”).
Under an assumed scenario of a 20% reduction in farm purchases and a 50% reduction in household expenditures, the economic impact of a primary farm operator prematurely dying from a tractor rollover at age 58, which is the average age of principal operators in Iowa, is:
- An estimated reduction of 3.6 jobs and $186,306 in labor income over 7 years
- An estimated reduction of $59,299 in cumulative local, state, and federal taxes paid