With the harvest season rushing in, the Health and Safety Executive has advised all farmers in the south Somerset and Yeovil region to take more care.
The warning comes after 82 farmers suffered fatal
personal injuries between July and October in the past five years, nationwide. Deaths accounted for nearly half of all fatalities during this time span in agriculture since 2004-2005.
Work accidents in this sector are also extremely high. This is due to several factors within the industry, for example it was revealed that one in eight handbrakes on tractors are faulty.
Deaths and injuries also occur when farmers are rushing their jobs, when they are trying to make up for lost time due to bad weather conditions or breakdowns.
Raise awareness of accidents in agriculture
The HSE’s advice follows its scheme to raise awareness of the dangers in agriculture in an attempt to reduce
work accidents and deaths.
The ‘Make the promise. Come home safe’ programme was launched in November 2008 and has generated around 7000 supportive responses from farmers.
HSE SW Agriculture Inspector, Tony Makin, commented: "Agriculture remains one of the South West’s most dangerous industries and in 2007/08 eight workers died, 291 suffered a major accident and 410 accidents involved over three days off work.
"A further 1,235 minor accidents were reported costing the region’s economy an estimated £34.9 million, he said."
HSE’s head of safety for agriculture, Alan Plom, said: "Farm work is one of the UK’s most dangerous ways to make a living and never is this more evident than during harvest when farmers are working to immense time pressures.
"There is always the temptation to cut corners when it comes to safety. Our message to farmers is to stop and think. Stopping a machine and making sure it comes to a standstill costs nothing more than a few seconds of time. Those seconds may prevent an injury that lasts a life time, he stated.
"There is still somebody dying needlessly every two weeks. A fatal or serious
accident can not only destroy families it can also ruin the farm as a business, threatening a livelihood that has often been passed down through the generations," added HSE non – executive director sandy Blair.
Farming accident
Also raising awareness amongst farmers is a young agricultural worker who knows all too well the dangers of farm work.
The Welsh farmer lost a leg after becoming trapped in a combine harvester and was only saved because his dogs raised the alarm.
The work accident occurred, when he failed to turn off the combine engine when clearing a blocked tank. His foot slipped and became trapped in the auger.
"I was lucky in so much as I decided to empty the combine in the yard next to the house. My dogs immediately realised something was wrong and made a racket so I could get help," the farmer said.
It took ambulance and fire crews nearly four hours to free the worker from the machine. The surgeons were forced to amputate his right leg.
As a result, the farmer travelled to the Royal Welsh Show to urge his fellow farm workers to take care when operating heavy machinery and carrying out farm duties.
He said that just a little bit of thought can go a long way: "A few seconds can save a lifetime of frustration," he concluded.
