Farming has been found to contribute to 20% of workplace deaths (Image: Farm Safety Foundation)
Farming is the most dangerous job in the UK, according to new figures released by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). British farmers have warned that their lives can be changed in a “split second” – despite thinking it will never happen to them.
The shocking new figures, released to coincide with Farm Safety Week 2024 (FSW24), show the industry has the worst safety record of any occupation in the UK. A total of 27 people died on farms in 2023/24, two of whom were children.
While only one percent of the UK population works in the industry, it accounted for 20 percent of all deaths in the workplace, on top of approximately 23,000 non-fatal injuries.
Farming is not the only industry to work with heavy machinery, dangerous chemicals, or at height. Industries such as construction encounter all of these but are renowned for a culture of safety rather than peril.
Erin Gailey, has suffered two serious injuries while riding a quadbike on a farm. For her, the changes in legislation and culture in construction over the last half a century have left farming trailing in the dust.
Erin Gailey suffered serious injuries in two separate quad bike accidents. (Image: Farm Safety Foundation)
Gailey said: “If you look at construction 50 years ago, it was probably quite similar to farming in its approach to safety, but farming hasn’t kept up.”
Stephanie Berkeley, a manager at Farm Safety Foundation, the charity behind FSW24 agrees that there is a significant contrast between the safety record of the two industries but highlights a fundamental difference which goes some way to explaining if not excusing it.
Berkeley said: “Construction is made up of large organisations, farming is centred around family homes. The money in construction means that they have health and safety on site at all times, it is somebody’s specific job and the person that manages the safety of chemicals will not be the person who manages the safety of machinery.
“On a farm, that is rarely possible, the farmer will be doing the work whilst also having to be an expert on all forms of safety.”
Stephanie Berkeley, manager of the Farm Safety Foundation says that excuses are not good enough (Image: Farm Safety Foundation)
The obvious explanation would therefore be that money is the factor driving poor safety, but Berkeley dismisses this out of hand.
She said: “Money is a factor, but it is also an excuse, and excuses are not good enough. Risk mitigation is free, dynamic risk assessments and health and safety policy that my organisation provides is all free.”
Given the importance of the farming industry to the UK, both in terms of exports but also sustenance, Berkeley believes that it would be in the government’s interest to provide financial assistance to help farming combat its poor safety culture.
She said: “We’re hearing positive signs from Labour, but proof will be in their actions.” For James Bannister, whilst the costs of accident prevention can be high, prevention is cheaper than the cure and he should know.
In 1998, he was involved in an accident with a potato harvester which led his left arm being amputated underneath the shoulder.
James Bannister lost his arm after it became mangled in a potato harvester (Image: Farm Safety Foundation)
Mr Bannister uses his experience to warn others of the perils of taking risks, especially when working with heavy machinery. His missing arm serving as a visual reminder of the dangers facing farmers in an industry reliant on large machines.
Mr Bannister said: “Farming is one of the most dangerous industries going. So many people believe that it will never happen to them, especially youngsters, but it only takes a split second for your life to be changed.”
He recently gave a talk to a group of farmers including Clarkson’s Farm star Caleb Cooper, leading to the unlikely national treasure to thank him for raising awareness.
For those injured in the line of work, there is scarce financial assistance for those left unable to farm, the self-employed and physically demanding nature of it proving unforgiving, something that both Bannister and Gailey are able to testify.
Just six months following his accident, Bannister was dismissed by his employer whilst Gailey saw her farm accommodation given to other people whilst she recuperated at home.
A year later, after a car knocked her off her quad and broke her leg, she was forced to survive on a measly £250 a month, forcing her to rely on savings.
But there is a hidden threat lurking amongst Britain’s farming industry, one less obvious than missing limbs and broken bones: Mental health.
Data from the Farm Safety Foundation shows that 95 percent of young farmers believe that mental health is the biggest danger.
Dan Boomer tried to take his own life two years ago and recently lost a friend to suicide, something that he says left “a hole in my heart that will never be filled.”
Two years on from his suicide attempt, he has vowed to help others and work to get rid of the stigma around mental health in farming.
He recently starred in a viral video produced by the Farm Safety Foundation at the Royal Welsh Winter Fair, where he stood blindfolded and offered strangers a hug or chat.
Boomer said: “It was great and showed the importance of talking. I had a woman tell me that she lost her nephew to suicide last year which just shows how prevalent it is.”
Information on the root causes of poor mental health in farming is scare but Boomer is able to offer his own opinions.
He said: “There are financial issues, we’re an industry that puts a million pound in the ground in the hope it grows back.
“But farming is getting harder with climate change meaning that crops are regularly failing, and unseasonal weather stops us from working which only increases the pressure.
“Farming is not like any other industry, we do not choose when we take breaks, we do so only when mother nature allows and that can also be hard.”
For more information on Farm Safety Week visit www.yellowwellies.org or follow @yellowwelliesUK on Instagram/Facebook/X using the hashtag #FarmSafetyWeek