Fatal and non-fatal injuries in the agriculture industry remain stubbornly high, the latest figures by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) show.
Agriculture once again has the poorest performance in relation to non-fatal injuries in the workplace, according to the UK's safety watchdog.
The farming industry has a workplace injury rate of 4,100 per 100,000 workers employed, compared to an all industry average of 1,110 per 100,00.
According to the HSE's report, the biggest cause of work-related ill health in agricultural is from work-related musculoskeletal disorders.
These injuries are most often associated with pain in the joints and muscles, with aching or stiffness in the back and upper limbs most common.
The report, which can be viewed online [PDF], notes that the total cost of injuries to the agricultural industry is estimated to be £279 million.
Responding to the release, the NFU said the figures made for 'sombre reading', adding that the industry was 'working to change'.
"By helping and learning from each other, we can work towards turning the tide on safety records," the union's vice president, David Exwood said.
"We need to work together on a new approach to kickstart a cultural change in farming and reach our goal to reduce the devastating injuries on farm.
“We need to continue to work together to share the simple actions we can all take on farm to make a substantial change in preventing devastating accidents from happening."
Mr Exwood said there were simple solutions for farmers to help mitigate some of the biggest causes of accidents in agriculture.
These include applying the safe stop on vehicles, wearing a helmet when operating ATVs, using seatbelts and wearing high vis clothing.
He added: “The HSE figures show that as an industry we should be more mindful of taking care of ill health at all ages.
"Farming is a physical job, and to ensure we are working pain-free we need to look after both our mental and physical health.”
