Agriculture’s health and safety statistics make for grim and worrying reading.
“The next generation is taking action to help drive through changes.”
Something needs to change
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In 2019/20, there were 20 people killed in Great Britain as a result of farming or other agriculture-related activities. Agriculture has the worst rate of worker fatal injury (per 100,000) of the main industrial sectors and it is 18 times worse than the average rate across all industries.
“British farming has to get to a point where we embrace a much more safety-conscious attitude.”
Health and safety in agriculture:
If the industry is agreed on anything, it is that these figures are unacceptable. No one should head out to work, or visit a farm, and never return home.
While the figure of 20 deaths is stark, it has fallen by nearly half year on year. In 2018/19, 38 people lost their lives. There is no indication of whether workplace deaths in farming falling to their lowest level on record is the start of a new era of safety-conscious workers, or whether this is just an anomaly.
The deaths of two children under the age of five in accidents on farm have already been reported this year, proving that the risk exists for all ages, whether employed on the farm or not.
NFU Vice President Stuart Roberts said: “British farming has to get to a point where we embrace a much more safety-conscious attitude.
“This also means spreading the word to family, friends and colleagues and not being afraid or embarrassed to point out if you see something unsafe. The time has passed for turning a blind eye to practices which are illegal and which put people we care about in danger.”
Kylie Roberts, head of health and safety for the rural division at Carter Jonas, believes that agriculture’s figures are particularly bad because of the extent of the risk. “Farmers are working in very remote areas, often on their own out in fields,” she said. “They have to work a huge number of hours, particularly during peak times such as harvest, and they’re around farm machinery and livestock.
“There needs to be more publicity about the risks and a better understanding of how dangerous it is.”
Furthermore, there is a real risk that agriculture’s dismal health and safety record could potentially put off young people from working in the industry.
“If someone wants to farm, it’s often in their blood and they do it regardless of the risks,” Ms Roberts said. “But nonetheless, many people might be quite happy to swap it for a desk job.
“Last summer my partner lost one of his good friends from college, who died in a farming accident. He was a competent, excellent farmer, but he was out in a field by himself and he was crushed between a tractor and sprayer when he was trying to clear a blockage.
“I’m sure there were lots of young farmers at his funeral thinking it could easily have been them.”
There is evidence that the industry has had enough and is determined to make farms a safer place to live and work.
“The good news is that we are seeing more and more people talking about health and safety,” Stuart said. “There are some green shoots that, as an industry, we are starting to embrace – we just have to keep reiterating the safety message day after day, month after month, year after year. Only by doing that will we start to see real changes.”
And, similarly, The Farm Safety Partnership has turned its focus to safety in transport, as this is responsible for the most deaths in agriculture.
NFU member and farming advocate Hannah Jackson (known on Twitter as the ‘Red Shepherdess’) is helping the Partnership highlight the need for active changes within the industry.
“Farming is an incredibly exciting and innovative sector which holds a huge amount of opportunities for young people coming into the industry,” she said.
“We need to be pushing the way forward for better health and safety on farms, not normalising behaviour that will sadly keep farming’s safety record way behind where it should be.”
She believes that the next generation is
taking action to help drive through changes.
“My job as a farmer and looking after myself while doing it come hand in hand, and that is how we will turn farming’s safety record around – by making it a part of our businesses and a part of the culture on our farms,” she said.
Ms Roberts agrees that monitoring health and safety and making it a key part of farming businesses is vitally important.
“There needs to be more publicity about the risks and a better understanding of how dangerous farming can be,” she said. “I have one client who gives new employees a full day induction on health and safety and best working practices. But that’s a big farming business – small family farms perhaps don't have the time to do this, so health and safety sometimes gets put to one side. We need to make everyone view it as a priority.
“It’s the job of both employers and employees to make sure that they’re reporting anything potentially dangerous, ensuring that things are being checked on and that the number of hours worked is being monitored,” she added. “There is often no time limit placed on tractor drivers, but they need breaks, particularly during harvest and other busy times.”
Carter Jonas carries out annual health and safety and compliance visits for a large institutional client and took the decision to roll these out to private clients four years ago. The survey created for these checks evolves constantly to reflect new legislation and monitors whether businesses have key measures in place, such as a fire risk assessment and a health and safety policy.
“We don't have an obligation to ensure businesses are up to date with their health and safety policies, but it’s worthwhile even if it just gets people thinking about it,” Ms Roberts said. “If you speak to someone in person it’s much more difficult for them to avoid or ignore the risks.
“The Health and Safety Executive carried out ad hoc inspections on-farm last year and, as a result, they were giving advice to farmers and asking them to attend various seminars that they were putting on. If you start looking, there is a wealth of free information out there.”
Focus on mental health
Although injuries and accidents on farms are a key concern for young people entering the industry, there is evidence that farming’s poor record concerning mental health might also be causing many to think twice about their choice of career.
In 2018, 83 suicides were registered among people working in agricultural and related trades in England and Wales. And a Farm Safety Foundation study revealed that 84% of farmers under the age of 40 believe mental health is the biggest hidden danger facing the industry today.
The same survey showed that 85% of young farmers agree that there is a definite link between mental health and farm safety.
“There has been a big push in the industry recently to raise awareness of mental health,” Ms Roberts said. “In the agricultural industry, it is being talked about more than ever as it is a serious consideration, particularly for lone workers, of which there are many in agriculture.”
Speaking about the Farm Safety Foundation’s Mind Your Head annual campaign, which ran from 10-14 February, CLA Deputy President Mark Tufnell said that farmers are made of stern stuff and ‘get on’ with whatever task they face.
“We have a new task that needs our urgent attention; our own mental health,” he said. “In that context, getting on with it does not mean ignoring the problem, it means tackling it head on.
“Farmers are renowned for the care they give to their livestock and the attention they give their crops. Now is the time for us to better take care
of ourselves.
“In a rapidly changing industry that is facing tremendous uncertainty,
we have to remove what remains of the stigma attached to mental health.”
just one life lost is too many
health & safety:
“Farmers are working in very remote areas, often on their own out in fields. They have to work a huge number of hours, particularly during peak times such as harvest, and they’re around farm machinery and livestock."
“84% of farmers under the age of 40 believe mental health is the biggest hidden danger facing the industry today.”
“Farmers are renowned for the care they give to their livestock and the attention they give to their crops.
Now is the time for us to better take care of ourselves."
The statistics
20
people killed in Great Britain were
killed as a result of farming or other
agriculture-related activities.
20%
of all worker deaths are in this sector. Agriculture has the worst rate of worker fatal injury (per 100,000) of the main industrial sectors.
Health and safety in agriculture
is the age of nearly half of the
agricultural workers killed,
and some are young children.
60
83
suicides were registered among people working in agricultural and related
trades in England and Wales in 2018.
Thanks to the efforts of the Farm Safety Foundation – recognised by many by their symbol Yellow Wellies – campaigns like Farm Safety Week have raised the profile of the issue to new heights.
Thanks to the efforts of the Farm Safety Foundation – recognised by many by their symbol Yellow Wellies – campaigns like Farm Safety Week have raised the profile of the issue to new heights.
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