Minnesota Seeing Rise in Farm Equipment Accidents

Electric co-ops in Minnesota say they’re seeing more cases of farm machinery hitting poles or overhead lines, causing costly and potentially dangerous scenarios.

They say the increase in accidents is a result of bigger farm equipment. Federated Rural Electric, based in the southwest part of the state, was impacted last month when a transmission tower was hit by a farmer tilling a field. The damage caused more than 2,000 customers to lose power until a repair crew was dispatched.

A company spokeswoman tells Minnesota Public Radio News that it was the third farm-related accident Federated Rural Electric has seen this fall. She says a farmer wrecked five power poles in a similar incident last spring.

A safety coordinator at Sioux Valley Energy says the co-op typically sees a couple of collisions each month.