More farmers are following safer work practices according to new figures from a farm safety survey released by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) and the Farm Safety Partnership (FSP).
The findings from the 2023 Farm Safety Survey also revealed 90% of farmers reported they had no minor injuries or near misses on the farm in the previous 12 months.
DAERA Minister Andrew Muir welcomed the statistics saying they were useful to help understand further the risks.
“These farm safety figures are vital to help us understand the scale and nature of the risk’s farmers are facing and the barriers preventing improvements to keep themselves, their workers and families safe,” Minister Muir said.
“They also help us shape our policies and develop targeted practical measures to protect lives. Our goal is to use them to improve standards and save lives on our farms.”
Deputy chief executive of the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI), and vice-chair of the FSP, Bryan Monson welcomed the findings but said more still needs to be done to keep farmers safe.
“We’re very encouraged by the figures that show fewer farmers never carry a child in a tractor, work with a loose bull, or remain beside an underground slurry tank while slurry was mixing,” he said.
“However, farming remains one of our most dangerous sectors with too many farmers still being injured or killed in what are preventable accidents.
“Worryingly, the statistics also show more farmers are suffering injuries that require medical attention and that they are taking longer off work as a result, possibly indicating an increase in the severity of the injuries,” he said.
Other farm safety survey findings
Other findings included:
- One in 10 (10%) experienced a minor injury and/or a near miss in the previous 12 months;
- 2% of farmers reported an accident that required medical attention with 48% suffering a fracture and 29% a laceration;
- Some 27% of those injured took more than 30 days off work compared to 16% in 2019;
- Less than half (45%) of those who had an accident did not require any time off work to recover;
- The main causes of accidents were being hit by an animal (33%) and slips at ground level (20%).
The findings also revealed that 75% of farmers identified being hit or trampled by an animal as a hazard they are most concerned about while 71% are worried about slipping or tripping.
Barriers to working safely included cost (77%) followed by time pressures from farm work (48%) or employment outside the farm (32%).
Monson said farmers need to make safety a priority: “I’d urge our farmers to take time each day, with every task, to stop, think and plan when working with machinery, livestock or carrying out maintenance.
“Our Stop and Think SAFE campaign is a simple but powerful message that reflects the four main causes of fatal accidents on local farms – slurry, animals, falls from height and equipment.
“We know time and costs pressures are real but keeping yourself safe is not optional – it must come first to protect lives, families and livelihoods,” he added.
The Farm Safety Partnership comprises: HSENI; DAERA; Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU); NFU Mutual; Young Farmers’ Clubs of Ulster (YFCU); Farm Safety Foundation (FSF); Northern Ireland Agricultural Producers’ Association (NIAPA); Rural Support.
It is tasked with assisting Northern Ireland’s farming community to work safely and tackle the problem of work-related fatalities and injuries on farms.
