Update, April 28, 2015: New hitch pin standard was three years in the making

The hitch pin in the photo, connecting the grain cart to the tractor, was being used on a farm we visited some time ago. It's not the newest pin in the world.

The question is: Is it strong enough and still in good shape to hold up and not break?

A safety specialist at a meeting once held up a hitch pin snapped in two. In his case it was attaching an anhydrous wagon to a pickup truck. The wagon went careening into the ditch. No serious damage or injuries resulted, but it wasn't due to anything except luck!

Related: Spring Farm Safety Could Hinge on a Hitch Pin!

Don't skimp on hitch pins: Make sure you're using a hitch pin designed for the job you're doing, Bill Field says.

Bill Field, the Purdue University Extension farm safety specialist, almost turns green with frustration when you bring up the subject of using cheap tractor discount supply hitch pins, sometimes made in China, to pull implements, even hay wagons, let alone grain carts.

Field is aware of one incident where a hitch pin snapped going downhill and a wagon full of people on a hay ride sped off the road. The results were more serious than when the anhydrous tank headed for the ditch.

Is a 'cheapo' hitch pin the right choice?
Field is a firm believer in safety standards for hitch pins. He works toward that as a member of the American Society of Ag Engineers committee that helps set safety standards for various pieces of equipment and things related to operating or pulling farm implements and equipment.

Related: Take Time to Maintain Safety Devices on Farm Equipment

Field simply doesn't see the wisdom in hitching a $100,000 grain cart which may pull 1,200 bushels of grain or more to a $200,000 tractor with a $5 "cheapo" hitch pin.

Don't even mention homemade hitch pins or bolts doing double duty as hitch pins in his presence. Just because you get by with it once doesn't mean you will again, or even the next time you try it. That's one of the nicer comments he might make to you in this situation.