Specialists warning to ‘think twice’ after spike in fatalities
RURAL risk specialists are urging Welsh farmers to ‘stop and think twice’ following a surge in agricultural deaths – and issued a stark warning for those who are failing to protect their most important asset.
Figures published by the Health and Safety Executive revealed that 41 people were killed as a result of farming and other agriculture-related activities in 2020/21 in the UK – almost double the number of deaths in the previous year.
Seven of the deaths took place in Wales – including a 57-year-old selfemployed farmer and his 19-year-old son, who were attacked and killed by a bull water buffalo.
While the number of people killed fluctuates each year, the five most common causes of fatal injuries over the last five years remain – being struck by moving vehicles, killed by an animal, struck by an object, falling from height and contact with moving machinery.
“Fatal injury rates in agriculture remain notoriously high, earning it the unenviable reputation as the riskiest industry sector,” said Alex Cormack, of Lycetts Risk Management Services.
“Just over one in a hundred personnel work in agriculture, but the sector accounted for one in four fatal injuries to workers this year.
“We know that farmers face a myriad of potential hazards, from contact with machinery and vehicles, chemicals, and livestock, to working at a height, and the demanding, solitary and relentless work associated with agriculture heightens farmers’ exposure to risk.
“But we are seeing the same causes of fatal injury crop up time and time again. A change in attitude to risk will be the driving force in changing this narrative.
“It is important to note that family members working and living at the farm are also put at risk – seven members of the public were killed in 2020/21.
“A split-second decision can mean the difference between life and death, so it is of critical importance that farmers stop, think twice and treat every task with risk management and health and safety at the forefront of their minds.”
Lycetts director Matt Mcwhirter urged farmers to not only rethink their attitude to farm safety but also about their own protection.
“It is a common assumption that if something does happen to farmers that their family will automatically get a share of the farm,” said Matt.
“But even in the most straightforward, clear-cut scenarios, estate settlement can be protracted.
“Oftentimes, farmers take great care in protecting their assets, be it farm machinery or livestock, but don’t give themselves the same consideration.
“Take a £10,000 bull, for example. Many farmers would not hesitate to insure this bull at a premium of more than £1,000 a year.
“For comparative purposes, a level term life assurance policy, for a 35-year-old male non-smoker for £100,000 to run until the age of 68, could work out at a tenth of that cost.
“If cows are better insured than they are, farmers need to have a hard think – their legacy is surely worth more than that.”
WELSH farming’s determination to lead the world in sustainable production could be derailed by red meat imports from less ambitious, lowerstandard marketplaces, Hybu Cig Cymru-meat Promotion Wales’ (HCC) chair Catherine Smith warned industry stakeholders on Thursday.
“The Welsh Way – non-intensive, pasture-based production – is already recognised as an excellent example of how red meat should be produced sustainably,” she told a hybrid audience at HCC’S Annual Conference at Builth Wells and online.
“The whole industry here in Wales is on a mission to improve our standards still further and we simply can’t afford to give away our natural competitive advantages in hasty trade deals.
“We in Wales do not fear trade – that’s fair and equal trade. After all, we’ve worked effectively to maintain our export markets, and to grow our trade with areas like the Middle East.
“But it isn’t fair or sustainable on our producers to prop open our national doors to increased competition from imports from countries which don’t match our standards of production.”
She said it would confuse loyal consumers, particularly in the foodservice and public procurement sectors, where they could be given the cheapest option and denied the right to make an informed choice.
“It could drag down hard-won standards and also drive down prices in a race to the bottom that is bound to undermine the financial viability of our own sustainable production systems,” she added.
“That’s why HCC wants consumers to have the right to know the full story behind the meat they eat; where it comes from and that it is produced sustainably and ethically.”