Farm deaths double in 12 months, new HSE figures reveal

A near doubling of deaths on British farms has prompted a fresh call for a total reassessment of risk to try to reverse the industry’s dismal safety record.

The latest Fatal Injuries in Agriculture report, issued by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) at the start of Farm Safety Week (19-23 July), reveals that 41 people were killed on GB farms in the past year, compared with 21 in the previous 12-month period.

See also: Stress and fatigue key factors in farm accidents

That death toll was made up of 34 farmworkers and seven members of the public – and of those seven, five were adults killed by cattle and two were children.

In Northern Ireland, there were a further five recorded farm deaths from April 2020 to March 2021, accounting for 38% of all workplace fatalities in the province and taking the UK total to 46.

Commenting on the latest data, Adrian Hodkinson, acting head of agriculture at the HSE, said producing high-quality British food seemed to come at a significant human cost.

“When we investigate life-changing farm workplace incidents, we find, time and time again, that risks are not being removed or managed,” he said.

“It is far too common for people to accept risk as an inevitable part of the job – but this isn’t the case.”

Actions that could put a stop to most accidents were straightforward and included:

• Putting on handbrakes
• Fastening lap belts in cabs
• Getting ATV training and wearing a helmet
• Putting cows and calves in fields without footpaths
• Stopping machinery before trying to fix or unblock it.

“It is not acceptable that agriculture continues to fail to manage risk in the workplace,” said Mr Hodkinson.

“We need everyone to play their part to change their own behaviours, do things the right way and ‘call out’ poor practices whenever they are seen.”

Fatigue

The Farm Safety Foundation, which organises Farm Safety Week, said one of the main causal factors was fatigue.

“Almost seven in 10 of those taking part in a recent survey identified tiredness as a major risk, with most having taken, or seen others take risks due to being tired,” it said, pointing out that for many, 15-hour days are seen as normal.

As such, the Farm Safety Foundation did a call-out on social media for farmers’ top tips to deal with tiredness.

Suggestions included: giving up alcohol for two weeks before any busy time such as lambing or harvest, staying hydrated, and grabbing “40 winks” after lunch.

Stephanie Berkeley, Farm Safety Foundation manager, described the latest set of farm fatality figures as “desperately disappointing” – especially the fact that farming has a fatality rate almost 20 times higher than the all-industry average.

“We need to reassess the risk of everyday tasks and think about the long-term consequences of each and every risk we have taken, and do something to either remove it or control it.

“Complacency kills – many farmers think they know their farm and the risks involved in going about their daily tasks.

“However, those risks change day to day, and next time things might not work out the same way.”