Health And Safety In Agriculture: Farmers Urged To Make Safety A Priority

Published date15 September 2021
Subject MatterEmployment and HR, Food, Drugs, Healthcare, Life Sciences, Real Estate and Construction, Health & Safety, Land Law & Agriculture
Law FirmShepherd and Wedderburn LLP
AuthorMr Hamish Lean and Kevin Clancy

Health and safety issues in the agricultural and rural sector are a matter of considerable concern. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is urging farmers to make safety a priority to reduce the number of injuries and fatalities in the sector. This recent campaign was prompted by four fatalities over a fortnight, coming only weeks after Farm Safety Week.

The four incidents arose in diverse circumstances, which should highlight the variety of risks working in a farm environment: a man died after a fall; a three-year old boy died following a collision with a vehicle; a man died after a crushing incident; and a man was found with fatal injuries surrounded by cattle. The HSE has also advised of separate reports involving members of the public being attacked by cattle.

Farming is a complex working environment but, given the risks posed by large machinery, operational decision-making on farms should place far greater emphasis on the health and safety of farmers and farm workers

Farmers should not be lulled into a false sense of security or complacency, nor should they adopt an "it won't happen to me" mentality. There are...

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