Farm Safety Week starts today

This week is National Farm Safety week with the theme: Safe Farms = Profit.

Farm Safety week has a focus on making sure the industry’s most vital resource, people, can go home safe after a day’s work.

Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries, Leanne Donaldson said farm safety is everyone’s business and with the rise in accidents everyone needed to take responsible steps to make sure they are safe.

“Over the last five years the rural industry, consisting of agriculture, forestry and fishing, has accounted for 27% of work related fatalities in Queensland,” The Minister said.

“The rural sector can be a high risk industry so it is important for everyone to make sure they are taking the right precautions when on the job.”

“Wearing the correct safety equipment at all times, using equipment correctly, maintaining equipment and making sure safety is always a priority.”

"When accidents and injuries occur on the farm, they have an immediate effect on the bottom line."

“So this week I want everyone involved in the sector to take some time and think about changing behaviour to make sure accidents and tragedies can be avoided.”

Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations, Grace Grace said accidents, injuries and fatalities costs the sector costs the industry through compensation and loss of working hours.

“The good news is there has been a significant reduction in the number and rate of fatalities over the past five years,” Minister Grace said.

“We want to make sure everyone working on a farm, whether a backpacker, farm hand, jackaroo or owner can come home safe from work.”

“Education is important when dealing with safety and the Government only recently released a programme in relation to quad bike safety.”

“Quad bikes have featured in more than 20% of work related rural fatalities in the last five years and the Government has recognise the need to raise awareness and educate the public on this.”

Main causes of workers’ compensation injury:

1. Hitting or being hit by an object such as an animal, sharp tool or active machinery 40%. Such as being kicked by a cow, cutting hand with a chainsaw, or foot run over by a tractor.
2. Falls, trips and slips of a person, often due to uneven or slippery ground, falling from an animal, falling off a trailer 21%. Like tripping on a whole in the ground, falling off a horse, or a fruit picker falling off a ladder while picking fruit from a tree.
3. Body Stressing 20%, from lifting, carrying or moving object. Like back injuries from lifting bales of hay, shoulder injury from pushing a plough, or hip injury changing a tractor tyre.

Main causes of workers’ compensation fatalities:

1. Vehicle Incidents 50% including, tractors or mobile farm machinery and quad bikes, having a quad bike roll over while mustering, or in a ute which rolled down a gully
2. Being hit by moving object 29% often trapped by machinery, such as being caught between the roof and cherry picker basket, or being dragged into an auger.
3. Falls, trips and slips of a person 8%, falls from a roof or ladder. Falling from the back of a cattle tailer, or the roof of a farm work shed

National Farm Safety week is 18^th-24^th July 2016

ENDS

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