Taking measures to make your farm and croft a safer place to live, work and visit

This year’s Farm Safety Week takes place from Monday 15 July until Friday 19 July with farmers across Scotland telling their stories about accidents they have been involved in.

Every year the Union supports Farm Safety Week through the Scottish Farm Safety Partnership, co-ordinating case studies and best practice. We tie regularly in with the Farm Safety Foundation, which runs Farm Safety Week to keep abreast of new statistics and advice for the industry.

Farm Safety Week encourages farmers who have had accidents previously to speak about their experiences in the hope that it will help others to avoid making the same mistake they did.

The Health and Safety Executive released its annual fatal injuries in agriculture report for Great Britain 2018/2019. From quad bike accidents to animal attacks, agriculture continues to kill and injure more people than any other industry in the UK and Ireland. This year’s report shows that during 2018, 39 people were killed in agriculture, compared with 33 the year before. In Scotland for 2018/2019, there were 13 fatalities in the agricultural industry, up by five from the previous year.

For full report visit: http://www.hse.gov.uk/agriculture/resources/fatal.htm

There are simple, but effective measures that you can take to help protect you, your workforce as well as your family and visitors to your farm and croft. Take time to read through our top tips.

This year’s Farm Safety Week has the following objectives:

• preserve and protect the physical and mental wellbeing of all those working and living in the farming community
• encourage those in the industry to stop and think about their safety and wellbeing whilst working and living on farms and build personal and business resilience 
• highlight good safety practices and share positive stories about living well and farming well
• encourage action in the industry to drive a real behavioural change
  

This year is all about real people, real stories and real change.

To find out more about Farm Safety Week, to read case studies and find out information about making your farm a safer place to work, live and visit go to: https://www.yellowwellies.org/

Click on the files below to read more about those who have had accidents;

Working with animals
Children on farm
Transport – Quads and ATVs
Mental health and wellbeing
Working near powerlines

Case studies 2019:

Graham Burnett, Tain

Paul Ross, Orkney

Willie Harper, Bridge of Weir

Mental health and wellbeing and agriculture – help is at hand

As we have heard over recent years, there are a number of mental health risk factors associated with agriculture. Farmers work long hours, often in isolation. They can be under significant financial pressure, often required to take on significant debt to purchase the land and equipment required to operate. And in most cases, a farmer’s place of business is also his or her home, meaning there is no easy way to get away from the workload. In addition, farmers are constantly vulnerable to unusual events and circumstances that can impact their bottom line — from weather and natural disasters to international trade disputes.

There is help available. We know that stress on your business, can lead to stress on your personal life, your finances and your health. But you are not alone.

RSABI supports people from Scottish agriculture emotionally, practically and financially in times of need. The service is available to those previously and currently involved in farming and crofting. This is a comprehensive service to clients who are experiencing difficult times to enable them to move forward.

Emotional support is available through its helpline, case officers and volunteers, all of whom are mental health first aid trained. They listen, keep people safe and access professional support when required. The helpline is open from 7am to 11pm, 365 days of the year and offers a call out service for the lonely and vulnerable. It can be reached by calling 0300 111 4166.

RSABI can access practical support such as, but not limited to, welfare benefits, business reviews, debt signposting, counselling and mediation services.

For further information visit www.rsabi.org.uk

Farm Safety Partnership Scotland

Farm Safety Partnership Scotland is a collaboration between NFU Scotland, Health and Safety Executive, Scottish Government and NFU Mutual – is working to significantly reduce the tragic toll of people who are killed or seriously injured on Scotland’s farms and crofts each year. The Farm Safety Partnership intends to change behaviours and attitudes by promoting the steps to reduce the risks of common farm jobs. Most people will be able to recall a close call situation that could so easily have resulted in serious injury or even fatality. By adopting some simple steps as part of everyday working practices we can reduce the number of accidents and deaths on Scotland’s farms. We speak to farmers across the country who have come forward to discuss incidents on farm that have had an impact on their lives and livelihoods.

The campaign focuses on four key causes of injury or fatality under the acronym FATE – falls, animals, transport and equipment, with child safety also covered.

Farm Safety Partnership Scotland - click to download the leaflet

Non-technical skills in agriculture

Non-technical skills are the social and cognitive skills needed, alongside technical knowledge and experience, to perform safely and effectively at work.  These skills are important in farming to prevent accidents and injuries.  The leaflet below explains what non-technical skills are and why they are important.

Scotland's Charity Air Ambulance (SCAA)

Farm Safety Week 2016