Hazards associated with using farm tractors to move large bales.

Beginning in the mid-1970s, standard small-bale forage balers began to be replaced by large-bale balers in the agricultural industry. The chance for serious injury or death to workers grows with the size and weight of bales. Bales that weigh more than 750 pounds put workers at especially high risk. According to NIOSH analysis of data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), 74 workers were fatally injured from 1992 through 1998 while harvesting, handling, or working near bales and bale-handling equipment [BLS 2000]. Forty-two of these workers were killed while preparing bales for transport or while moving them. Farm tractors were involved in 34 of these 42 events. In a number of these deaths, rollover protective structures (ROPS) on tractors and specialized handling equipment were not used, and parked tractors were not secured to prevent them from rolling.