Everyone in our industry has role in reducing accidents – that was the message from the Farm Safety Partnership after new figures revealed 29 workers and seven members of the public died in incidents on agricultural premises last year.
The new statistics from the Health and Safety Executive were published during Farm Safety Week.
NFU adviser Benjamin Ellis said: “It is sad that agriculture has retained the highest fatal accident rate for a number of years now. But we are actively working hard to try to improve the record.
“The Farm Safety Partnership is leading the way in raising awareness, with each organisation represented dedicated to raising standards.
“The NFU meets with our members regularly to discuss the importance of on-farm safety and we produce a number of safety-related briefings and business guides to help identify risks.
“It is vital that everyone in the industry plays their part - simple measures like telling someone what you are doing, taking a charged mobile phone in your pocket and knowing that a 999 call doesn’t need signal from your provider can save your life.
“But it is also important that people take action to prevent accidents from occurring like following the safe stop procedure (hand-brake on, controls in neutral, engine off, keys out) and not cutting corners and taking risks such as when working at height or handling livestock.
“The NFU is committed to helping to reduce these accident statistics and believe that a good safety record is proof of a professional, modern industry.”
The Farm Safety Partnership, which is chaired by the NFU, is an industry-led initiative of 30 organisations which aims to improve agriculture’s safety record and reduce deaths and serious injuries.