Farm Safety Week aims to highlight machinery dangers

The dangers of farm machinery are being highlighted on Tuesday (5 July) as part of this year’s Farm Safety Week.

The annual campaign – now in its fourth year – follows a particularly bad year in 2014-15, in which the total number of fatalities was up 22% at 33 on farms in England, Scotland and Wales.

At 9.12 deaths per 100,000 workers, the death rate is significantly higher than any other industry sector.

“Agricultural machinery is dangerous and can rip off a limb or kill in seconds,” said Farm Safety Partnership chairman Alan Plom.

See also: Farm deaths rise 22% despite focus on safety

“Make sure you use the Safe Stop approach [see ‘Top safety tips’, below] – ensure equipment is switched off when making routine checks or maintenance, and always take your time to think about what you are doing and what might go wrong.”

Combine harvesters, choppers and hay balers all bring their dangers, while hands, hair and clothing can be caught by unguarded pto shafts or other unguarded moving parts such as pulleys and belts.

People can also be injured by front-end loaders, falling from a moving tractor or being struck by its wheels.

Spreader danger

Robert Hamilton

One agricultural contractor to fall foul of such dangers is Robert Hamilton from Strathaven, South Lanarkshire, who lost his hand when servicing a rear discharge spreader two years ago.

“I was just running the machine in the afternoon and checking it over, and the floor chain was running very slowly within the rear discharge spreader.

“I wiped grease off the pipe next to the floor slat and my hand got trapped.

“I knew then that it wasn’t a good situation. 

“I knew that the only way I could survive this was for my hand to come off between the forearm and wrist.”

Mr Hamilton tried to phone his father on his mobile, but could not be heard due to the noise of the machine.

He eventually managed to free his arm and was taken to Hairmyres Hospital in East Kilbride before being transferred to Glasgow’s Royal Infirmary.

“I remember the doctor telling me that he couldn’t sew my hand back on and there was nothing they could do as it had been crushed.”

Mr Hamilton, who has two young children, says adapting to life after his accident has involved ups and downs, and has had a wider impact on his family.

“That sort of impact can sometimes be underestimated after an accident,” he said.

Powerful forces

Darren Taylor

Another farmer to suffer a life-changing accident is Darren Taylor, from Bolton Percy in North Yourkshire, who was running a potato harvester, alone, in preparation for a day’s work.

He tried to kick a stone out of the cleaning system at the back of the machine, his foot got caught in the rollers and it pulled him in.

As he tried to free himself, his left arm and his other leg also got sucked in.

He was trapped for around 25 minutes until two colleagues arrived for work and raised the alarm.

Mr Taylor was airlifted to Leeds General Infirmary and put in an induced coma for eight days.

He underwent three major operations, to remove his right leg below the knee and his left leg right up to his hip.

His left arm had to be removed from just below the elbow, but was sewn back on.

Mr Taylor notes that farm machinery is generally safer than it used to be, but it is also much stronger.

“When things do go wrong, the machines are less forgiving.”

This week, Farmers Weekly is highlighting the experiences of other farmers who have suffered serious injuries at work to shed light on the importance of farm safety. Their stories will be highlighted online using the Twitter hashtag #FarmSafetyWeek