Rabi to launch new farm medical emergency app

The Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (Rabi) is launching a new mobile phone app to help farmers with real-time trauma guidance in the crucial moments following a serious on-farm accident.

FarmersAid, which is officially launching in January 2026, will take farmers through step-by-step instructions for treating the most common life-threatening injuries on farm – such as crush incidents, falls from height, and severe bleeding.

See also: New safety campaign urges farmers to ‘Stay Safe’

A Rabi spokesman said this would enable users to act fast and effectively before emergency services arrived at the scene.

Backed by leading remote and rural medicine experts Prof Cathy Jackson and Prof Stuart Maitland-Knibb, the free app is designed to address the crucial “platinum 10 minutes” – a window where fast appropriate action from bystanders can dramatically improve survival and recovery outcomes.

Prof Maitland-Knibb, a Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (Hems) consultant, said: “Emergency services often face delays reaching rural farms. This means the first few minutes are absolutely critical.”

Rabi chief executive Alicia Chivers added: “It’s unacceptable that too many farming families are devastated by what are often preventable tragedies, with lives being lost due to a lack of understanding on how to administer immediate critical care at the scene.” 

Farm fatalities

Despite on-going industry awareness and education efforts, farming remains the most dangerous industry in the UK.

While only 1% of the workforce is employed in the sector, it accounts for about 20% of all workplace deaths.

On average, 31 people die on British farms each year and thousands more are left with life-changing injuries.