Farming remains the most dangerous industry
Agriculture remains one of the most dangerous industries to work in, according to the latest figures released by the Health and Safety Executive.
Although there was a drop in recorded major injuries from an average of 395 for the previous five years to 292 reported in 2013-14, it still means farming is well above the norm for other jobs. The HSE regards major injuries as those where someone has, for example, suffered broken bones, lost limbs, serious burns or severe cuts.
See also: Farm fatalities down
Taken as a whole, there were 78.5 injuries for every 100,000 employees in the British workplace, but farming has 193.8 major injuries per 100,000.
Rick Brunt, HSE’s head of agriculture, said: “While any decrease in the number of injuries is welcome, I would urge the industry to avoid complacency and recognise it still has a long way to go to improve its poor record of managing risks.”
“As ever the causes of death and injury in the sector are not new, and the industry must work hard to manage these well-known risks if we are to tackle the poor health and safety record.“The industry-led farm safety partnerships are well positioned to help the agricultural industry to take ownership of the problem, and demonstrate how professional modern farming can be safer, and that this record can improve.“We will continue to work closely with the partnerships to promote good practice and the common sense, low cost approaches that can save lives and avoid injury”.