General News
18 July, 2022
Taking time, planning key to farm safety
This week is all about raising awareness of the importance of staying safe on farms, something relevant to many local farming families, with the 2022 National Farm Safety Week getting underway from Monday. The national week runs from July 18 to 24...
This week is all about raising awareness of the importance of staying safe on farms, something relevant to many local farming families, with the 2022 National Farm Safety Week getting underway from Monday.
The national week runs from July 18 to 24 and this year’s theme is ‘Recipe for Averting Disaster’, focusing on a number of intangible risks and hazards for farmers such as fatigue, labour shortages, the aging workforce, wellbeing, complacency, and the blurred line between the work and home environment which make Australian farms one of the most dangerous work environments.
According to Farmsafe Australia, in 2021 there were 46 fatalities on farms across the country — 58.7 percent were farmers over the age of 45.
Tragically in May this year a 54-year-old man died on a farm in Crowlands, near Ararat.
According to WorkSafe Victoria, the man died while attempting to unload a bulk seed bag into a semi-trailer after he was pinned against the top of the trailer when the bag shifted after being lifted above the truck with a telehandler (a forklift-style machine used in agriculture).
Local farmer Rosemarie Watts said in her 22 years of farming thankfully she’s avoided serious injury but did say she finds it hard to have a work life balance living on the farm.
“The farm life isn’t as simple as having a normal job, where you have a start and finish time,” she said.
“Farming is a way of life where you’ve got things that require doing most of the time, like taking care of animals.
“If there’s a broken water pipe or a sick animal you can’t just say that you’re knocking off now, you have to deal with it.
“You have to choose your work life balance and have a holiday when it’s not a busy time of the year for farming.
“If there’s shearing going on or different things that need to be done for livestock, you have to choose the quiet times where you can take a break.”
Ms Watts said ensuring things are done properly and are in good working order on the farm is key to staying safe.
“I know a lot of farmers are time poor, but even though we want to rush to get things done it’s important to take the time to plan ahead and to stop and think about what’s actually happening,” she said.
“You need to make sure you have things working properly, that way you aren’t tempted to put your hands in something to fix it because it isn’t running right.
“The tractor can be a big concern, especially when you have creeks that run through your property.
“You have to make sure you use the right machine for the right job.
“You have to know how to use the machinery you have, as well as being aware of your environment, and thinking ahead and planning.”
For more information on Farm Safety Week visit farmsafe.org.au/farm-safety-week-2022