Last Year’s Spring Saw a Spike in Fatalities on the Farm

Last year’s spring saw a spike in fatalities on the farm and Federated Farmers does not want history to repeat this year. Federated Farmers  health and safety spokesperson Karen Williams says farmers need to prioritise their own, their children’s and their staff’s safety on farm. WorkSafe statistics show 20 on farm workplace fatalities in 2020, with five deaths in August and September during the busy lambing and calving period. This year five people have died in on-farm workplace accidents .. one this month. Feds is concerned increased workloads due to staff shortages could mean the stats could be even worse than last year. Karen Williams says safety is an easy habit to set in place and a great example for those kids running around in these lockdown weeks and fears that because many farms are short-staffed older and younger family members are trying to help out…which adds even more risk to farm safety.