A SPATE of tragic farm accidents in our region recently serves as a a timely reminder to remain vigilant and try our best to protect ourselves and our workers on farms as best we can.
According to Farmsafe Australia, Agriculture consistently ranks among the most dangerous industries to work in.
Working in the elements, with large animals, with chemicals, heavy machinery at heights and in confined spaces, with heavy loads and often alone and in remote locations acts as a perfect storm for tragedy to occur.
Farmsafe Australia chair, Felicity Richards reiterates the importance of farm safety awareness.
“One of the key challenges that our research has identified is driving continued engagement with the behaviours associated with farm safety. Lack of engagement, coupled with complacency and fatigue, is often a greater challenge than awareness of risk.
“Most farmers are able to identify the risks and hazards on their farm, tell stories of near misses and know other farmers who have been involved in serious on farm incidents, however, with time, the immediacy of danger and the perceived probability of another incident tends to fade, instead of becoming an experience that drives positive change in behaviours.
We are calling on farmers, across the Goulburn Valley/Shepparton region, and right across Australia to commit to increasing their focus on creating and enforcing a safety culture on their farms in an effort to drive longer term behaviour change and avoid relapses into short cuts and poor decision-making.”
The Adviser wishes to express their condolences to the families and communities affected by the recent accidents.
