HID 13 • July 2001

Hazards Associated with

Using Farm Tractors to

Move Large Bales

Description of HAZARD

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 balesfor 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.

During 1993 through 1999, the Minnesota Fatality Assessment

and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program, working with the

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)

FACE Program, studied 11 fatal incidents in which workers were

killed while working with large bales. Eight of the 11 workers

were moving or preparing to move large bales using farm tractors

when they were struck by a bale that fell, were caught between a

bale and a piece of equipment, or were crushed as a result of a

tractor rollover.

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
CASE STUDIES

Workers are at risk of being struck by bales

that fall from equipment during transport.

A 70-year-old farmer died from injuries received

when a large, round hay bale fell out of the bucket

of a tractor-mounted front-end loader. The bale

pinned him against the tractor seat. The loader did

not have a grapple or spear for holding bales in

place. Instead, the farmer had tied the bale with a

5/8-in.-diameter rope. The rope broke, and the bale

tumbled down the loader lift arms,striking and killing the farmer [MDH 1995].

Workers are at risk of being caught between

a bale and a piece of farm equipment.

A 63-year-old farmer died from injuries received

when he was pinned between a large bale and a

tractor-mounted front-end loader that had a bale

spear attached. The farmer drove the tractor to a

spot along a public road where he planned to use

chains to pull a large bale from the ditch. He turned

the tractor, its wheels still on the road, so that the

front faced the ditch. The farmer climbed down

from the tractor and walked about 12 to 15 feet to

the bale. He had not blocked the wheels or set the

emergency brake. As he wrapped chains around the

bale, the tractor rolled forward into the ditch, coming to rest against the bale. The bale spear attachment skidded across the top of the bale and wedged

the bale between the front of the tractor and the

loader. The farmer was caught between the bale

and the loader and was unable to free himself. He

died as a result of traumatic injury [MDH 1999].

Tractor rollover hazard: Workers risk fatal

injury when moving large bales with tractors that are not equipped with ROPS and a

seat belt.

A 65-year-old farmer died from injuries received

when the tractor he was driving rolled over. He was

using a tractor-mounted front-end loader equipped

with a large bale spear to haul bales from a field to

his farmyard. The tractor did not have ROPS. The

farmer had raised the loader about 5 feet above the

ground so that the bale he was moving would not

block the beams from the hood-mounted headlights. Asthe farmer drove the tractor from the field

to the farmyard, the left rear tractor wheel left the

driveway surface and entered a ditch. The tractor

rolled over to the side 180 degrees, coming to rest

on top of the farmer and causing fatal crushing injuries [MDH 1996].

Recommendations for prevention

To reduce the risk of injuries and deaths, farmers and

their employees should take the following measures:

•	 Make sure equipment is suitable, in good repair,

weighted properly, and able to carry the load safely

and securely.

•	 Rig tractors with ROPS and a seat belt. Use seat

belt when driving tractors with ROPS.

•	 Always operate equipment according to the manufacturer’s instructions and recommendations.

•	 Before beginning work, plan the safest travel path.

When possible, use travel paths that are flat, firm,

free of obstructions, and a safe distance from holes,

ditches, and ruts. Because conditions change, continually scout the ground to find the safest travel

path.

•	 Front-end loaders are used to stack, load, or move

bales. Use attachments that are designed to handle

large bales, such as grapples (photo 1) and

front-end bale spears. Do not raise or lower loaders

while the tractor is moving.

•	 Drive tractors with front-end loaders atslow speeds.

•	 When moving bales but not stacking or loading

them on trailers, use tractors that have a rear-end

bale spear attachment (photo 2) whenever possible.

•	 Before moving bales by using front-end loaders or

rear-end bale spear attachments, make sure that

enough counterweights are added and that attachments are safely placed in the lowered position.
•	 Use tractors with headlights, taillights, and warning flashers. Be sure this equipment is not obstructed when bales are moved with attachments

in the safe, lowered position. Move bales during

daylight hours whenever possible.

•	 When moving up or down sloping land, keep the

bale on the up-slope end of the tractor and place the

attachment in the lowest possible position. For example, if a front-end loader is used to move a bale,

the tractor operator should drive uphill or back

downhill. If a rear-end spear attachment is used,

drive downhill or back uphill.

•	 If you must leave the tractor, lower the attachments, stop the engine, remove the key, and secure

the tractor to prevent it from rolling. If the tractor’s

transmission has a park position,shift the lever into

park. If there is no park position, shift it into the

lowest gear. Set the parking brake if the tractor has

one. Chock the wheels front and back to prevent

rolling.

REFERENCES

BLS [2000]. Census of fatal occupational injury

data files. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of

Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

MDH [1995]. Farmer dies after large round hay

bale falls on him. Minneapolis, MN: Minnesota

Department of Health, Minnesota Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (MN FACE) Investigation 95MN01301.

MDH [1996]. Farmer dies after tractor he was driving rolled over on him. Minneapolis, MN: Minnesota Department of Health, Minnesota Fatality

Assessment and Control Evaluation (MN FACE)

Investigation 95MN07101.

MDH [1999]. Farmer dies after being pinned between large bale and tractor loader. Minneapolis,

MN: Minnesota Department of Health, Minnesota

Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (MN

FACE) Investigation 99MN02901.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The principal contributors to this publication were

Doloris Higgins, Division of Safety Research,

NIOSH, and David L. Parker and George Wahl,

Minnesota Department of Health.

Photo 1. The tractor shown above has a front-end loader

equipped with an attachment for securing bales (grapple). The

loader isshown in a lowered position, which isthe safest position

to use when moving bales.

Photo 2. The tractor shown in the photo has a rear-end bale spear

attachment. Moving the bale with the rear end bale spear attachment makes the tractor more stable, does not get in the way of the

tractor’s headlights, and allows the operator a clear view.

DHHS (NIOSH) Publication Number 2001–146
 
 

 

 

For more information 

NIOSH has recently published a report on this hazard: Wahl GL, Brown M, Parker DL, 

DSR, NIOSH, CDC [1998]. Fatalities associated with large round bales—Minnesota, 

1994–1996: MMWR 47(2):27–30. 

To obtain more information about this hazard or other work place hazards

 —call NIOSH at , or 

—visit the NIOSH Web site at 

NIOSH and MN FACE recommend that farmers, farm machinery owners, and agricultural 

workers 

—contact manufacturers for information about ROPS and the safe use of farm

 equipment attachments, and 

—contact the NIOSH FACE program, the MN FACE program, your Occupational

 Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) office, and your county’s agricultural 

 extension agent for more safety information. 

1–800–35–NIOSH

 http://www.cdc.gov/niosh 

Department of Health and Human Services 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health 

4676 Columbia Parkway 

Cincinnati, OH 45226–1998 

Delivering on the Nation’s Promise: 

Safety and health at work for all 

people through research and 

prevention 
 

 

 DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2001–125 or visit the NIOSH Web site at www.cdc.gov/niosh E-mail: pubstaft@cdc.gov Fax: (513) 533–8573 1–800–35–NIOSH (1–800–356–4674) contact NIOSH at about occupational safety and health topics, To receive NIOSH documents or more information Cincinnati, OH 45226–1998 4676 Columbia Parkway National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Department of Health and Human Services