It’s Farm Safety Week 2024, a campaign initiative launched by Farm Safety Foundation (Yellow Wellies). This campaign serves as a vital reminder to those who work in the agricultural industry that farm safety is a year round responsibility. It highlights the importance of making the safety of our farmers and farm workers a daily priority.
Recent data shows the urgency of this campaign. “According to new figures from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), farming continues to have the poorest safety record of any occupation with 27 people losing their lives on GB farms in 2023/24′ and ‘agriculture still accounts for 17 per cent of all deaths in the workplace.’
Farm Safety Week 2024 provides us with an opportunity to reflect on our own farm safety practices and strengthen our commitment to creating a secure working environment on our farms. At Blackdown Growers, we are dedicated to implementing continuous improvements to safeguard our farm staff, as well as the other teams who work on our sites, including marketing, sales and accounts.
Here’s a look at some of the practises we’re taking to ensure robust farm safety for everyone who works across our farms.
Training and Inductions
Each member of our team undergoes rigorous training and inductions covering essential farm safety practices, emergency procedures for incidents such as fires and the proper use of all farm machinery and equipment. Continuous improvement and learning are needed in all these areas, so we ensure that all team members undertake regular refreshers and safety drills. This ensures that all farm staff and others who work on our farm sites are well-equipped to handle potential hazards and any other emergencies while working.
Thorough Farm Safety Checks
Maintaining a safe working environment across our outdoor farming areas, glasshouses, packhouses and offices involves regular and thorough safety checks. Our Health & Safety Manager conducts these checks and inspections of farming machinery, equipment, building infrastructure and walkways to ensure everything is functioning correctly, in good condition and safe to use or be around. Any issues found during these checks are documented and fixes are addressed promptly to prevent severe accidents. We also adhere to strict maintenance and cleaning schedules to keep all equipment on our farm running smoothly and safely.
PPE (Personal Protective Equipment)
PPE is vital for farm safety, as it helps protect against numerous hazards related to agricultural work. For example, sturdy footwear prevents foot injuries from heavy machinery or sharp objects, safety goggles protect eyes from dust and high-visibility jackets ensure you are seen among farming equipment preventing anyone being knocked over.
Emergency Preparedness
Our farm sites are equipped with first aid kits and we have staff trained in first aid. We ensure that there are always at least two trained first aiders on site in the event of an emergency. When a new employee arrives, we thoroughly go over who the first aiders are on site to ensure everyone knows who to contact in case of an emergency.
Mindful of Mental Health
Farm safety isn’t just about preventing unexpected incidents, it’s also about promoting the well-being of our farm staff and making them feel supported. Farmers and farm workers often face long hours, high stress levels and isolation, which can impact mental health and lead to accidents and mistakes. By prioritising the mental health of our farm workers and staff members, our teams can stay focused, make sound decisions and feel generally safer while performing their daily tasks and operations.
How are we Supporting Farm Safety Week 2024?
We fully support Farm Safety Foundation (Yellow Wellies) on this year’s Farm Safety Week 2024 campaign. We agree on letting the agricultural industry work together to prioritise farm safety, supporting each other on robust farm safety practises and working together in creating a safer working environment for both farmers, farm workers an other employees on farms.
This week we will be spreading the word about Farm Safety internally and reiterating its importance to all employees. We’ll be highlighting what all staff member need to look out for as they go about their days on the Blackdown Growers farm.
For more information on Farm Safety Week 2024 and how you can get involved, visit Farm Safety Foundation (Yellow Wellies). They have some great additional resources to push the agricultural industry with their own Farm Safety, from building your own health and safety policy to farm emergency plans.
