ACC: Farmers need to look after their best asset — themselves
Farmers are great at looking after their animals and their farms, but they also need to look after their most important asset, themselves and those who work for them.
That was the message from ACC and Farmstrong, as farmers all over New Zealand began preparing for another demanding winter season.
Agriculture was one of New Zealand’s most high-risk industries according to ACC. Last year produced 22,796 farm-related injury claims, more than 60 per day, costing $84 million. The bill for the last five years was more than $383m.
Last year saw 1354 farm-related injury claims made in Northland, taking the five-year total to 8004.
The most common injuries were soft tissue (66 per cent), lacerations, puncture and stings (17 per cent), and fractures/dislocations (6 per cent).
Farmstrong, a rural wellbeing initiative that encourages farmers and growers to share their stories and to look after themselves as well as they do their pasture and livestock, was joined by ACC as a strategic partner in 2016, along with FMG and the Mental Health Foundation. Last year ACC increased its investment to $3.5m over the next five years as one of its injury prevention investments in the rural sector. Other investments include a subsidy on roll bars or crush protection devices for quad bikes.
ACC also partnered with the NZ Shearing Contractors Association and Federated Farmers to develop Tahi Nga¯tahi, an online training platform for shearers and woolshed workers.
“Farmers spend their lives growing our food and milk and helping our economy, but they’re not great at looking after themselves,” ACC’s head of workplace safety, Virginia BurtonKonia, said.
“We’re proud to be partnering with Farmstrong and its focus on simple tools like getting enough sleep, eating right and getting some exercise.
“Farmers need to get better at putting in systems to look after the most important asset on the farm, themselves and those who work in the business.”
An ACC-funded study for Farmstrong showed 58 per cent of recently injured farmers linked their accident to stress associated with farm work. A quarter of them said it was a major factor. Exhaustion, lack of sleep, the stresses of farming, being isolated from friends and family, and being unable to take a break all added to the risks of an accident.
Last month ACC launched a new injury prevention campaign, Preventable, challenging all New Zealanders to stop and take a moment to assess the risks at home, work and play.
“It’s important for everyone, especially farmers, to take a moment to think about what they are about to do and think about what could go wrong to prevent injury,” BurtonKonia said.