COOPERSTOWN — A new program by the New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health to reimburse farmers for the costs of installing roll bars on their old tractors is having success, but there is a long way to go.

“This program is crucial. Rollovers have repeatedly claimed the lives of New York farmers,” said Dr. John May, director of NYCAMH based in Cooperstown.

By mid-January, nearly 200 farmers had signed up for the program, called ROPS, which gives farmers up to $600 for the costs of retrofitting roll bars.

But there are approximately 50,000 tractors in the state that don’t have the basic safety device.

For safety officials, it’s a no-brainer: The highest rates of tractor rollover fatalities occur in the Northeast.

At the same time, ROPS are 99 percent effective in preventing injury and death, according to Dr. May.

Every year in New York, farmers are crushed to death when the tractor they are operating overturns. It is the most frequent cause of death on a farm. In the last eight months alone, six New York farmers were killed in rollover accidents.

The rebate program is the result of $200,000 in funding secured by Sens. James Seward and Catharine Young and has the support of Farm Family Insurance, the New York Farm Bureau and the Northeast Equipment Dealers Association. “The senate grant that Senator Young and I won in the budget will be a significant help in reducing farm-related accidents and deaths,” Seward said last month.

“This program is vital in ensuring the safety of those providing our bread and butter,” said Young, who chairs the senate agriculture committee.

NYCAMH is hopeful that the potential to reduce these tragedies will be dramatically improved if farmers are helped with the cost. Farm families are struggling with a low milk price cycle that has put many close to the brink.

NYCAMH will be going back to the legislature this winter seeking another round of funding for the program.

Farmers who qualify can receive a rebate of 70 percent of the cost (up to $600) of installing rollover protective structures on tractors lacking such protection. Farmers have until March 31 to participate.

A toll-free hotline has been established (1-877-ROPS-R4U) to provide advice and assistance in locating the most affordable roll bar or cab, setting up an appointment for installation, and tracking rebates.

May said that many New York farmers feel that the cost of rollover protection is the largest prohibitive factor in retrofitting unprotected tractors.

But that might be a high price to pay. “Without cabs or roll bars, it is difficult to see an end to these all too frequent tragedies,” May said.