Save 35 Vermont farmers and farms from tragic loss due to tractor rollovers.

Vermont farmers need our help.

Having grown up on a small farm with no running water or electricity, I gained a true appreciation for the hard work and value of family farming. I knew farming was dangerous,

especially after my father lost his finger in a haying machine.  But I didn't know that,

• Farmers are 800% more likely to die on the job then the average worker.  

• Most of these deaths are due to tractor rollovers. 

Now, as  coordinator of the VT Rebates for Roll Bars Program, it really concerns me that 

• 35 Vermont farm families are ready to protect themselves, but funding is short.

Our program provides rebates to VT farmers to install roll bars on their tractors.  Like the roll bar above the rear tire in this photograph,

• Roll Bars are 99% effective in preventing rollover deaths.

Your donation on this site will help us move 35 farmers off our waitlist for a rebate, protecting their families for years to come.

This donation will also protect Vermont farms. 

• 7 of 10 farms go out of business within a year of a fatal rollover.  

These farms and farmers keep our working landscape open in Vermont and bring us healthy food every day.   They need our help.  I would hate to see one of the 35 farmers on our wait list die before we can get funding to them. 

Please donate to:

• Keep these farmers alive and healthy

• And our Vermont farms strong!  

• Donate here at Indiegogo.com/vtfarmer

Please help spread the word to your friends and Colleagues!

Thanks! 

Matt Myers,

Program Coordinator, VT Rebates for Roll Bars Program,

UVM Extention

Farmers put food on our table every day.

Our farmers are at significant risk. 

They are 800% more likely to die on the job then the average worker -and their leading cause of their death is the tractor rollover.  A death occured just a month ago in Orange County, Vermont where a 60 year old father of four rolled his tractor into a road side ditch.  He was found dead at the scene of the accidient, crushed beneath the tractor.  This was the third fatal rollover in Vermont since the spring.

What are the consequences for our farmers and farms when a tractor rolls over?

Farm fatalities deliver a crushing blow to the farmer and the farm. 1 in 7 farmers in a tractor rollover will receive a permanent disability.   Seven of 10 farms go out of business within one year of a fatal rollover.  In addition to a crippling family tragedy, studies show that the cost to the farm and society of a fatal rollover is typically $910,000 or more.

 How can ROLL BARS solve this deadly problem?

Fortunately, a Roll Bar (Like the one over this farmer's head below) is 99% effective in preventing tractor roll over deaths and serious injury.   This past summer, a young woman in Northfield was turning a compost pile with her tractor bucket when the machine became unbalanced and rolled over in less then a second.  She walked away from this accident unharmed.  A roll bar and seat belt kit on the tractor saved her life. This man installed a roll bar on his tractor through our program and can now drive his tractor with 99% confidence that he will not die or be seriously injured in a rollover.

Why should I care about Vermont Farmers?

Vermont has been an agricultural state from the beginning.  Farmers have shaped the tenacious, hard working, helpful character of our culture. Farmers preserve the beautiful working landscape we so much appreciate;  they sustain us by bringing a bounty of food to our table every day. When we loose a farmer to a rollover, we will likely loose the farm as well.

What has been done so far to help save the farmer's lives?

We started the Vermont Rebates for Roll Bars Program at UVM Extension in 2010 to provide an informational hotline for farmers so they can call and find out where to get the right roll bar kit for their tractor and register for a 70% rebate on the cost of the kit.  Since then, 331 farmers have registered with our hotline and 126 of these farmers have already installed roll bar kits using a 70% rebate (averaging $660) provided by our program.  The roll bar on this tractor below provided 99% protection to the driver.

Why do we need to raise $23,100 with this campaign?

Like this family below, 35 Vermont farmers eagerly await funding to protect their families and farms from tragic loss.   The Vermont Rebates for Roll Bars Program has feverishly raised money from organizations large and small to install 126 roll bars so far, but 35 farmers on our wait list remain vulnerable to their leading cause of death and serious injury.  

Farmers are a critical part of our community. 

They keep our working landscape open.

They bring delicious food to our table every day.

Please DONATE to keep these farm families healthy, and our Vermont communities thriving. 

Your donation may literally save a life and a farm in Vermont. I hate to think how I would feel if one of the 35 farmers currently on our wait list dies before receiving a roll bar. What a terrible tragedy that would be.

Please help us get the word out about this campaign by sharing the link with Face Book friends, email lists, etc.  

Thanks!!! 

Donate Incentives, Learn more...

Call me if you have questions or want to donate incentives for the site.  We REALLY appreciate any amount you can contribute.

(802-888-4972 x404) or Matthew.Myers@uvm.edu

Any VT tractor owner is elligible to receive a rebate:

Call 1-877-767-7748!

If you want to make a donation by mail, Please make a check out to:

"ROPS Rebate Fund", UVM Extension, 29 Sunset Drive, Morrisville, VT 05661-8313

Thank you!