7 tips for keeping safe on farms

It's no secret that Australian farmers are over-represented when it comes to workplace injuries and fatalities. In 2018, the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry recorded the highest fatality rate with 11.2 fatalities per 100,000 workers, around 10 times the all-industries average of 1.1.

Serious claims rates in the industry are also high, with 3560 serious claims made in 2017-18, or 8.6 per million hours worked in 2017-18. The manufacturing sector comes in at 8.1, while transport, postal and warehousing is 7.7.

Hazards associated with farming such as plant, chemicals, noise, dust, sun exposure and working with animals are present in other industries as well, so what makes it one of the most dangerous?

According to Safe Work Australia, it's the combination of these hazards and several other factors unique to the industry. These includes:

Safe Work Australia has reported 17 deaths in the agriculture, forestry & fishing industry so far this year, compared to 19 reported in the same time frame in 2019. While there was a slight improvement there, more must be done to educate and eliminate the risks associated with the industry.

In conjunction with National Farm Safety Week, here are some of our key farm safety tips:

Knowing the main causes of workplace casualties is crucial to knowing where to apply the necessary precautions.

These are the key reasons for deaths and injuries on farms, according to Safe Work Australia.

Vehicle accidents were the main cause of farm-related fatalities in the 2013-2016 period (the latest complete data available), accounting for 25 per cent of the total.

When it came to serious claims made by farmers in the four years from 2013 to 2016, the main causes were split evenly between being hit by an animal, muscular stress while handling objects, falls from a height, and falls on the same level – all accounting for 11 per cent each of the total.

Agriculture has evolved significantly over the last century or so with increased mechanisation making farmers' lives easier. But with that comes plenty of dangers and hazards.

Familiarity breeds contempt, and it's easy to become complacent after years of using certain types of equipment.

SafeWork NSW has been working with farmers "who’ve lived to tell the tale” to compile a series of true stories to warn other farmers of the dangers of farm work for its 'Alive and Well' initiative.

It has also put together a list of 'nine golden rules' to live by on farm to keep everyone safe:

No one can remember everything all the time, so plans and checklists are indispensable safety tools. Use them to cover off everything from induction to training and from tractors to infrastructure.

One of the best tools we've found is Dairy Australia's Farm Safety Starter Kit, which contains checklists, templates and self-assessment tools. While it's geared towards the dairy industry, it can be used on any other farm.

The University of Sydney's AgHealth Australia unit also has some excellent resources available to farmers, including Hazard Checklists for a variety of products and situations. They're designed to help you find the most common safety hazards on farms and also include a safety action plan for making the farm safer.

There are checklists for tractors; irrigation pumps and motors; motorbikes and quad-bikes; workshops; field and paddock; training and induction; injury management and return to work.

First aid training is essential for farm workers to help deal with injuries and emergencies when they arise in a calm and responsible manner.

A general recommendation is that you have one first-aider for every 25 workers in a high-risk industry such as farming, but obviously the more the merrier. If you might have groups working at a distance from each other, you would want each group to have at least one trained first-aider and access to a first aid kit.

We say "at least one", because you need to also consider for when the only trained first-aider is injured.

Having multiple first-aiders has also been proven to reduce the number of injuries on site, as trained workers are more aware of the risks.

First aid kits for the farm should be fit for purpose by containing items suitable for the types of injuries that occur on rural properties such as snake and spider bites; crush injuries; electrocution; eye injuries; cuts and bruises as a result of a machinery accident etc.

St John Ambulance sells a wide range of professional-level first aid kits, such as the Modular Trauma First Aid Pack, the Major Bleeding First Aid Module and the Outdoor and Snake Bite First Aid Module.

Examples of first aid kit contents tailored for farm use include heavy-duty crepe bandages; sting relief ointment for bites and stings; large, clean sheeting for burns, a thermal blanket for treating shock, a whistle for attracting attention, and a torch for use in dark and remote locations.

It's important to have more than one kit available. Keep one in the home, car, ute, truck, shearing shed and workshop.

All the staff working on your property should know where the first aid kits are kept and should have first aid training on what to do in an emergency.

Farm owners and managers are required by law to protect their workers by ensuring that they and other people on the farm are not exposed to health and safety risks.

You must meet the workplace health and safety (WHS) requirements set out in the acts and regulations in your state or territory – or face the penalties.

The safety compliance requirements can be found via the websites below:

The workplace safety authority in your state must be notified immediately of incidents that result in death, serious injury or have imposed a serious risk to health.

Besides providing assistance to injured people or removing items that might cause further harm, the incident scene must be left undisturbed pending further instructions by a workplace safety authority officer.

The contact numbers for each state's workplace safety authorities are: