Agriculture most dangerous industry to work in, figures show

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Agriculture is the most dangerous industry to work in after figures show that it had the highest number of fatal injuries among workers last year.

As a result, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has launched a campaign to highlight advice for working safely within the farming industry.

According to figures, there was a total of eight work-related deaths on British farms in 2022/23, and 27 people were killed as a result of farming and other agriculture-related activities.

Agriculture most dangerous industry

Agriculture has the worst rate of worker fatal injury (per 100,000 workers) of all the main industry sectors, with the annual average injury rate over the last five years around 21 times as high as the all-industry rate.

Now, the HSE has launched the Your Farm Your Future campaign to assist farmers and workers to keep safe and highlight the measures that need to be taken.

According to the figures, livestock and farm vehicle incidents account for around half of all work-related deaths on British farms in the past five years.

A total of seventy-seven people lost their lives, with each death leaving a devastating legacy on families.

Adrian Hodkinson, agriculture lead at HSE, said:

“Working with cattle and using vehicles are two very common activities in farming, but they bring with them a high risk of being very badly hurt.

“Agriculture consistently has a high rate of fatal and serious injuries of all main industry sectors in Great Britain. Over the past five years, the average fatal incident rate is twenty-one times higher in agriculture than the average across all other industries.

“That is a shocking statistic and sadly the impact on every affected farm is huge. Sometimes I see the incident lead to farming work stopping altogether, as the key person has life-changing injuries and can no longer work.”

Mr. Hodkinson explained that the campaign had been launched to “stress how important it is to take sensible measures, such as keeping animals and people apart and ensuring handlers and in good health.”

How to keep workers safe in farming industry

The HSE has released new guidance to keep workers in the farming and agricultural industry safe under the following new web pages:

Operating a safe farm – Where possible keep people and cattle apart
Safe equipment
The animal

Livestock handler guidance

Working with cattle is one of the most common causes of death on British farms. The HSE guidance says where possible, people and cattle should be kept apart.

Livestock handlers should be in good health, agile and have the physical ability to work with livestock. Handlers should be periodically reassessed by their employer.

To ensure their safety and the safety of others, livestock handlers should:

Plan handling tasks and be properly trained in safe systems of work using the equipment provided and be competent to handle livestock.
Be closely supervised by the employer until they are assessed and deemed competent.
Have the ability to recognise warning signs that the animal is agitated and understand how to respond.
Never enter an enclosure when a bull is loose or a cow is with a calf unless the animals are restrained or segregated.
Respect livestock and the risks involved.

Cattle in fields with public access

Deaths or injuries to members of the public can occur when cattle are in fields with public access. Key considerations for farmers and landowners include:

Where possible avoid putting cattle, especially cows with calves, in fields with public access.
Where this is unavoidable, do all that you can to keep animals and people separated
Monitor the cattle daily.
Display signage at the entrance stating what animals it contains.
Position feed and water troughs away from public access routes.
Don’t keep dairy bulls in fields with public access.
Assess the temperament of any cattle before putting them into a field with public access and don’t put an animal in that has shown any sign of aggression.
Consider culling any animal that does show signs of aggression.

Working with livestock equipment

Agricultural equipment should be regularly maintained, arranged and used so that people and cattle are kept apart as much as possible. You should:

Carry out stock tasks on restrained animals using good handling facilities.
Ensure that all handling equipment, gates and railings are well maintained and in good working order.
Have good calving facilities in place including calving pens, calving gates and equipment such as calving jacks. Separate the calf and/or secure the cow before carrying out any tasks.
Check the race and crush meet the requirements set out in Handling and housing cattle AIS35
Never enter a race or crush containing livestock.
Where there is no other option but to tend to animals while they are loose in pens, and it is not possible to secure them, make sure that you have adequate escape routes. When considering escape routes, think: Under, Over, Behind or Through.
Have someone else working with you where possible.
When carrying out fieldwork, ensure that good mobile handling facilities are used, have a refuge such as a vehicle nearby, and have sufficient persons to enable safe handling.

Cattle

HSE states that workers should never underestimate the risk from cattle, even with good precautions in place.

Bulls can be territorial and cows with calves are very protective of their young and should be treated with extra caution. You should:

Consider having bulls ringed at about 10 months and check the nose ring regularly.
Use handling aids such as poles and halters when moving bulls.
Consider culling animals that are habitually aggressive or difficult to handle.
Keep bull beef in secure pens in small groups of 15 to 20. Set up facilities to allow feeding, watering and bedding changes to be carried out without the need to enter the pen with loose bulls.
Keep stock bulls in a purpose-made bullpen which meets the requirements set out in Handling and Housing cattle AIS35.
Bull pens used to house beef bulls should also meet the same standards.

Vehicles

Vehicles are used every day to assist with the running of the farm. However, if they are not maintained and handled correctly, they can be dangerous.

Regularly check and maintain brakes on all vehicles. Trailers must have brakes designed for the maximum loads and speeds at which they will operate.
Ensure a seatbelt is fitted and worn every time a vehicle is used
For vehicles which have doors fitted as standard, make sure the doors are attached securely and remain closed when the vehicle is moving.
For vehicles that have mirrors fitted as standard, double-check check they are fitted securely and are clean to ensure optimum visibility.