Leading farm safety charity, the Farm Safety Foundation, is calling on those working in agriculture to make a real change, following the increasing number of farmers and farm workers killed at work over the past year.
To mark the start of Farm Safety Week (15 – 19 July), the Health and Safety Executive has released its latest Fatal Injuries in Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing for Great Britain 2018/2019 report.
This year, 39 farmers, farm workers and members of the public lost their lives on farms in Great Britain. Despite increased awareness of the issue (68% of farmers have awareness of Farm Safety Week), farming still has the highest rate of fatal injury of all the main industry sectors, around 18 times as high as the all industry rate, accounting for more than 22% of all workplace fatalities.
A new web video has been released of Stephanie Berkeley, Farm Safety Campaign Specialist, on the need to raise awareness of farm safety, which features a case study with Jack Fisher detailing how he lost his father due to a tragic accident on his farm. To view the video, click HERE.
Now in its seventh year Farm Safety Week will bring together five countries over five days with one goal – to inspire farmers to look after their physical and mental wellbeing and reduce the number of life-changing and life-ending accidents on our farms.
This year’s Farm Safety Week will concentrate on making a real change, bringing the focus back to farmers, farm workers and those living and working in rural communities to deliver real stories, inspiration and messages directly to them.
