Farm Safety Week to help people 'stay on the safe side'

Farmsafe Australia chair Felicity Richards, Tamar Valley, said there had been 19 deaths from farming incidents in Australia in the first half of this year, with 55 total deaths having been recorded across Australian farms in 2022 - up from 46 deaths in 2021.

She said Farm Safety Week could highlight areas that needed to be improved to ensure people remained safe on farms, with organisations coming together to improve farm safety.

"We're an organsiation made up of other member organisations, like WA Farmers, Primary Producers SA and commodity organisations, like AusVeg," she said.

"These organisations give us really powerful insights into safety in their respective jurisdiction or commodity, but they also have the ear of the farmers on the ground and that's really important."

There has been an increased awareness on the importance of farm safety, Mrs Richards said.

"I think there's been a focus on quad bikes over the last few years, as we introduce legislation and make (rollover protection devices) a requirement," she said.

"There were tragic circumstances that led to that focus, but I do think it's heightened awareness of the risks of that piece of machinery, for example."

The focus on machinery safety this week was due to 64 per cent of the fatalities on farms in 2022 having been attributed to a farm vehicle or mobile farm machinery.

"There were 20pc attributed to tractors - that was the highest single agent of a fatality and 14pc were quad bikes," she said.

Mrs Richards said this week would also focus on ensuring children remained safe on farms.

"On Wednesday our tagline will be to 'look out for little farmers' - that'll be a day where we focus on some tips and strategies to help keep kids safe around farms," she said.

"For my husband Mark and I, we have three children, who are three, five and seven, so they're right in that high risk age group."

The importance of farm safety for children was particularly important for Mrs Richards, who had experienced how dangerous a farm could be for kids with her daughter Esme, who was fortunately within arms reach during an incident.

"When my daughter was two I was brushing my horse and she was standing there with me and the next minute she was reaching into a water trough, which was waist height on her," Mrs Richards said.

"She tilted forward and she was trapped face down in the water trough.

"She couldn't reach down and push herself up and she couldn't swing her feet back down to the ground."

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Ceduna farmer Warren Beattie has also experienced the dangers of farming hazards in 2019, both personally and through the sad passing of his late father Barry.

"I got caught in a prickle chain at night time, it was my own fault as I was overtired and not paying attention to where I was and I ended up with a broken leg," he said.

"My Dad died in 2019 and we don't know what happened, but he got in a field bin and there was an auger in it and he ended up getting buried in the wheat and he must have a medical episode.

"He was unconscious and there was grain in his lungs and he was by himself."

Ahead of Farm Safety Week, Mr Beattie said he hoped people understood the need for them to be educated on farm safety and not sanctioned.

"It's not really a case of an inspector coming around and saying 'you need a guard on this and a guard on that', it's more to do with attitude," he said.

"People need to adjust farmers attitudes in the first place."

Since 2019, Mr Beattie said he had become aware of how to avoid getting involved in farming accidents.

"I've become more cautious and didn't work such long hours and just tried to back off a bit and think what I don't do today, I'll do tomorrow," he said.

"That comes with a lot of common sense, but also a lot of experience and learning where the potential hazards are on the farm."

Alex Thomas, Plant a Seed for Safety, Nairne, said farmers commonly knew how to avoid farming hazards but just needed to take time to think and assess situations.

"The key is taking the time to slow down, speak up, and to stop and think before doing something, especially when the pressure is on," she said.

Ms Thomas said one procedure would not work for every problem and farmers would need to come to a consensus on how to manage different risks, with everyone required to be involved in the discussions, which must become a regular part of each farming business.

The high number of on-farm deaths last year was not a surprise, she said.

"If you take people away from the job, eg labour, you put pressure on others to get it done," she said.

"Throw in an ageing workforce, the increasing burden of red tape, seasonal variation and the pressure to be more productive, efficient and sustainable, all with less people, it's not surprising that we're having more incidents.

"The more pressure there is, the more likely it is people's mental health will suffer, resulting in them getting burnt out, rushing and distracted, all of which can contribute to poorer safety outcomes."