By Callum Ludwig
16 to 23 July is National Farm Safety Week and farmers are urged to take note, avoid complacency and think about how they could work safely.
Farmsafe Australia’s Safer Farms Report has found that 1705 people have lost their lives on Australian farms since 2001, including a man who died after becoming trapped inside a harvester on a Ure Road farm in Gembrook in 2022.
Agriculture Yarra Valley Chairman Clive Larkman said small and medium-sized tractors and quad bikes are the two most dangerous pieces of equipment farmers need to be careful on.
“Make sure you’ve got the right safety equipment, make sure that quad bikes have got roll cages and that you use them carefully and safely, they’re not suitable for kids and they’re not a toy,” he said.
“It’s the same risks for the tractor, it’s rolling over on the tractor or it’s not making sure the handbrake is on when you are getting to work or getting equipment off the tractor.”
According to the Safer Farms Report, tractors and quad bikes have accounted for nearly 30 per cent of all farm deaths in the last 22 years, a total of 487 people.
Mr Larkman said it is not necessarily new or inexperienced farmers that are the problem.
“A lot of the time it’s the old farmers who just get a bit casual or lose focus, it’s always sad when anyone has passed away, especially at a work accident,” he said.
“It’s hard on the family, it’s hard on the other people at the work site, it’s just a horrible situation and we’ve just got to make sure it doesn’t happen so we really need to educate people about the dangers.”
73 per cent of farm deaths in 2022 were people over 45 years of age and 93 per cent were male. 64 per cent of deaths were attributed to farm vehicles or machinery, with tractors and quad bikes accounting for 20 and 14 per cent of those respectively.
Each day of National Farm Safety Week this year has had a theme: the launch of the ‘Stay on the Safe Side campaign and Safer Farms report, safety innovation, choosing the safest vehicle for the job, safety for children, using and maintaining guards on machinery and knowing your limits.
