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Know How / Health and safety

Agriculture is one of the most dangerous industries in the UK because of the high level of fatal accidents and life-changing injuries. Learn from the experiences of farmers who have been involved in an accident and read practical advice on how to make working on your farm safer.

Key areas of focus:

  • Preventing accidents such as falls from height
  • How to handle livestock safely
  • Safety around machinery
  • Slurry handling safety
  • Pesticide storage

Dying to Feed You campaign

Case studies

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HEALTH AND SAFETY

Dying to Feed You: Corrine's eye socket was fractured

Welsh farmer’s wife and nurse Corrine Mathias suffered a fractured eye socket after being attacked by a cow.  Watch her tell her story in the video and read the report…

HEALTH AND SAFETY

Dying to Feed You: Grace suffered multiple broken bones

Grace Addyman suffered multiple broken bones when she was hit by falling bales at her family farm. She tells us what happened on that day, the difficult surgery that followed…

HEALTH AND SAFETY

Dying to Feed You: Beca fractured skull in quad accident

Beca Glyn was herding sheep across the road on her quad bike when she had an accident. Sadly, she wasn't wearing a helmet and the impact resulted in a serious…

HEALTH AND SAFETY

Dying to Feed You: Mike Nixon fell 28ft through a shed roof

Mike Nixon fell through a shed roof to clean the guttering. He landed on a concrete scrape passage and sustained a serious spinal cord injury.  It began like a normal…

HEALTH AND SAFETY

Dying to Feed You: Rob was attacked by a cow after calving

Rob Lewis was left with a fractured spine after being attacked by a cow while feeding a calf. Here, he tells his story. It’s a day that will be etched…

HEALTH AND SAFETY

Dying to Feed You: James was dragged into a potato harvester

James Bannister lost his left arm after being dragged into a potato harvester. After the trauma of being stuck inside the machine for over two hours, he was airlifted to…

Practical advice

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HEALTH AND SAFETY

Advice on employers' liability, injury and H&S management

Employers’ liability insurance is a legal requirement for any business using labour. It provides cover for legal liability for injury or illness caused to anyone working on the farm. Businesses…

HEALTH AND WELFARE

Fire risk planning - what to consider on a livestock farm

Climate change is driving livestock farmers to consider farm resilience and feed security. But it should also make them think about the increasing challenge from wildfires and the risk to…

HEALTH AND SAFETY

Farm building planning: Health and safety obligations

Farmers planning a building project should check their obligations under the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE’s) Construction Design and Management (CDM) Regulations 2015. These govern the way all building projects…

BUSINESS CLINIC

Business Clinic: Can we divert a public footpath?

Whether it’s a legal, tax, insurance, management or land issue, Farmers Weekly’s Business Clinic experts can help. Here, Richie Rees, senior associate in in law firm Thrings’ dispute resolution team,…

BUSINESS

Advice on asbestos rules and responsibilities for farmers

A quarter of a century since the material was banned, asbestos-related diseases remain the greatest cause of work-related deaths in Britain, accounting for some 5,000 lives a year, according to…

HEALTH AND SAFETY

Improving farm safety and saving lives

The statistics around farm fatalities and workplace injuries are truly sobering. Agriculture, forestry, and fishing had a fatal injury rate last year which was 21 times higher than the national…

Insights

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HEALTH AND WELLBEING

Level the Field survey reveals widespread physical challenges

Farming has always demanded physical resilience. But Farmers Weekly’s latest research suggests that for many in the industry, resilience is no longer about strength or stamina – it is about…

HEALTH AND SAFETY

Farm safety: Is there a level playing field for women?

Farm safety has become a much-discussed topic in recent years, and with good reason. Despite numerous safety campaigns, agriculture statistically remains the nation’s most dangerous industrial occupation. What is perhaps…

SPRAYERS

Options expanded for closed-transfer sprayer filling

Serious concerns about operator and environmental safety when climbing onto sprayers to pour neat chemical into the top of tanks were raised by safety regulators as far back as the…

News

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HEALTH AND SAFETY

Suffolk farmer killed in grain silo incident

A farmer has died after an incident involving a grain silo in Suffolk, according to a statement from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The death, which happened on 2…

NEWS

Devon farmer dies after hedgetrimming ladder fall

A farmer has died after falling from a ladder while hedge trimming in Devon, according to a statement issued by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The fatal incident occurred…

HEALTH AND SAFETY

Farmers retain relaxed rules for moving fuel and fertiliser

The NFU has secured the continuation of crucial exemptions from the Carriage of Dangerous Goods (CDG) regulations for farmers and growers, allowing them to transport fuel, fertilisers, and other hazardous…

HEALTH AND SAFETY

New safety drive highlights risks facing older farmers

A new farm safety campaign has been launched to reduce work-related deaths and serious injuries among older farmers, following statistics showing higher fatality rates and longer recovery times. The Health…

Video

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HEALTH AND SAFETY

Dying to Feed You: Ashley Herbert never felt pain like it

Cumbria farmer Ashley Herbert was 24 when he lost his hand in a farm machinery accident. After being rushed by air ambulance to hospital, surgeons managed to stem the blood…

ARABLE

VIDEO: Simple tips avoid accidents at harvest

Simple but often overlooked safety tips can help farmers avoid accidents during the hectic harvest period. Pressure and stress on farmers at harvest can be a dangerous combination, says Phil…

HEALTH AND SAFETY

Video: Young farmer cheats death in quad bike accident

A young farmer has told how she cheated death in a quad bike accident which left her with a fractured skull, neck injuries and major bruising. Beca Glyn, 26, was…

HEALTH AND SAFETY

Dying to feed you: Tim fell 14ft and lost part of his skull

Norfolk farmer Tim Papworth spent five weeks in a coma and had part of his skull removed after falling from a ladder. Tim took an easy route to a job,…