Farmsafe Australia head Felicity Richards shares terrifying story of how a worker could have died on her farm

When a farm worker almost rolled his vehicle while moving cattle on Felicity Richards’ farm a few months ago, she knew just how much worse it could have been.

As the head of Farmsafe Australia, the beef farmer is all too aware of the dangers farm workers face.

“Yep, that was a close one,” Ms Richards said.

The young worker escaped uninjured but the frightening experience left all on the farm rattled.

New data from Farmsafe Australia shows 55 farmers died on the nation’s farms last year as a result of an accident or other incident.

About 64 per cent of those deaths were linked to farm vehicles or mobile farm machinery.

The deaths are highlighted in the group’s Safer Farms report, which was released on Sunday to mark National Farm Safety Week.

The figures signal a return to more injuries and fatalities after 46 deaths were recorded in 2021.

It also gives agriculture the unenviable title of the most dangerous Australian industry to work in.

Farmsafe Australia has launched a new campaign called ‘Stay on the safe side’ to try turn that around.

Tractor accidents are still the leading cause of death among the nation’s farmers, so the campaign focuses on tractor safety.

“We don’t want to preach to farmers... but we just want them to stop and remember that they have the power to make safe decisions,” Ms Richards said.

She said the report recognised there had been safety improvements on farms which had saved lives.

In the early 1980s, Australia was averaging 24 tractor rollover deaths a year but by 2004 that number was down to six.

The introduction in 1981 of Australian safety standards to protect the driver when a tractor rolled has been credited for the reduction in deaths.

Ms Richards is still “deeply distressed” that farm deaths are being recorded, most of which still involved men over 45.

“Complacency can be very dangerous in farming because we know there can be a huge amount of experience at play, but we can still make poor decisions,” she said.

Nationals leader David Littleproud said agriculture continued to be one of the nation’s most important industries but it also remained one of the most dangerous.

“Everyone deserves to go home at the end of the workday, especially our farmers who work so hard to produce our food and the materials that clothe us, so it is important we talk about safety every chance we get,” Mr Littleproud said.

“Our farmers are the lifeblood of our country; let’s support them by taking part in National Farm Safety Week and thanking them for the work they do putting food on our table.”