NFU urges farmers to make farms safer

The NFU is urging farmers to assess risks and take action in making their farms safer for themselves and others around them, as the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) statistics released today show 33 fatalities involving workers and four involving members of the public occurred in agriculture last year.

The figures show that the five-year average has not improved. To address this, the industry has come together to promote advice on avoiding accidents on farm in Farm Safety Week (6-10 July). This is part of a long-term initiative to reverse the trend and make the sector a safer one to work in. The NFU will be working alongside partners from across the UK and Republic of Ireland to achieve this.

NFU Vice President and Farm Safety Partnership Chairman Guy Smith said: “The stagnant nature of these figures underlines the importance of the industry working to ensure the number of fatalities in our sector falls and the NFU is playing a leading role in this.

“The Farm Safety Partnership, a collaboration of 48 organisations, is committed to raising awareness of potential risks and promoting safe practices on farms. From the statistics, farming has the poorest record of any occupation in the UK. We need to take responsibility and wake up to the risks around us and do something about making our workplace safer.

“The Farm Safety Week tagline says it all: don’t learn safety by accident.”