Ten years on from first Farm Safety Week campaign, agriculture continues to have the poorest safety record of any industry in both the UK and Ireland.
Despite the latest on-farm fatal injury figures showing an improvement on past years, the charity behind the annual safety drive has stressed that even if it was only one death it would still be too many, and made a plea for those living and working in the industry to try much harder to minimise the risks they take.
The Farm Safety Foundation – or Yellow Wellies as they are known – highlighted figures released in the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) 'Fatal Injuries in Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing in GB Report 2021/22' showing that over the last year, 25 people have lost their lives on farms in Great Britain, down from 41 the previous year.
Of those 25 people killed, in Scotland, England and Wales in the past year, 22 were farm workers and three were members of the public, including a nine-year old child. For an industry that still has between one and two children being killed through its activities each year, the Farm Safety Foundation said that safety standards simply had to improve.
The picture is similar in Northern Ireland, where farming accounted for 6 of the 18 reported workplace fatalities in 2021/2022. In the Republic of Ireland, where farming accounts for 4% of the workforce, the industry had 26% of all workplace fatal incidents.
Agriculture is different from many industries in that it can present hazards to people not actively involved in the industry, such as children and family members living on the farm and visitors, in addition to farm workers. Hazards can also exist for vets, delivery workers and even the emergency medical services personnel, as they provide assistance and care to victims of farm incidents.
But what Farm Safety Foundation manager Stephanie Berkeley doesn't understand is how farming has managed to change so much over the past decade, without sorting out its safety record at the same time?
“Despite an encouraging improvement in the HSE figures over the past year, these are very sobering statistics.
"We must remember that these are not just statistics – behind every fatal notification is a worker, a visitor or a child. We cannot become immune to the impact that each and every death has on farming families and communities across the UK and Ireland.
"Ten years after our first campaign, we cannot continue to accept that risk-taking is part and parcel of farming – we have to work harder to make it safer," said Stephanie.
She noted that awareness of farm safety was at an all-time high, with 66% of farmers in the UK – and 80% amongst the under 40s – aware of Farm Safety Week.
"But the fact remains that, over the past year, 25 people lost their lives on GB farms so, awareness may be one thing but the time has come for action.
"This is why, a decade on, a focus like Farm Safety Week is still important. When many voices join together to drive a change, this is when it can happen. We should be farming safely every day of the year not just during Farm Safety Week.”
Head of Agriculture at the Health & Safety Executive, Sue Thompson, said: “I congratulate the Farm Safety Foundation for the great work they’ve done over the last 10 years to raise the profile of farm incidents and their consequences.
"However, there are farming families left devastated every year when their loved ones are badly injured or killed while doing their jobs. We are starting to see safety improvements in some areas, but the pace of change is slow, and the rates of workplace injury and ill health in agriculture remain the highest of any major sector.
“Awareness of the hazards and risk have never been higher, and Farm Safety Week has played its part in this" she continued
“But it’s regrettable that we’re not yet seeing the widespread changes in attitude towards safety, and the improvements in behaviour that will reduce the numbers of people hurt or made ill.
“Far too many farmers and farm workers suffer life-changing injury and lifelong chronic illness resulting from poor health and safety management," said Ms Thompson.
“Everyone in agriculture has a role to play in making the changes we all want to see. Together, we can make farming safer.”
Ms Berkeley added: “As a small charity that has delivered training sessions to over 18,000 young farmers in land-based colleges and universities across the UK and through the young farmers clubs network, the Foundation knows – and our research supports this – that the next generation of farmers are cultivating a better attitude to risk-taking and are starting to drive better safety behaviours in the workplace.
"Farming is an industry where people do not retire at 65 so, with the oldest farm worker killed over the past year being 85 years of age, we need to look after our older workers so they can continue to support the farm business and carry out tasks are appropriate for their mobility, agility and health conditions.
"But the truth is, farmers of all ages need to start challenging and changing their attitudes so we can make our farms safer places to work and to live.”
For more information on Farm Safety Week visit www.yellowwellies.org or follow @yellowwelliesUK on Instagram/Twitter/Facebook using the hashtag #FarmSafetyWeek
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here