A REPORT detailing rural insurance claims over the past 12 months has revealed farmers are becoming more safety conscious.
The annual Safer Farms Report compiled by WFI Insurance has shown claims have fallen in most segments particularly those involving falls from heights which are down 75%.
It also revealed impact injuries have reduced by 30%, while farm collisions have also fallen by seven percent, with an overall 23% reduction from four years ago.
In WFI’s workers compensation portfolio (WA only), overall incidents are down around 20%, with logging incidents seeing a dramatic 95% reduction.
There was however a significant 40% increase in beef cattle farming incidents.
The top four areas for farming incidents were grain sheep and grain beef farming (52%), beef cattle farming (18%), road freight transport (17%) and electrical (13%)
The report published annually in line with National Farm Safety Week, is an important resource for farmers and their families, with the purpose of promoting safer work practices to save lives and limbs.
WFI Insurance GM, Andrew Beer said with 1,820 lives lost on Australian farms since 2001 and farming representing over one third of all national workplace deaths, WFI Insurance was sharing the recent farm incident data with the aim to raise awareness around areas of heightened risk.
“We see first-hand the adverse outcomes of when things go wrong on farms, where events can unfold quickly and often in remote locations,” he said.
“Many of the accidents we see are preventable, which can make it even more heartbreaking.
“While our data shows a reduction in incidents across some agricultural sectors over the past year, we have also seen horrific life-changing injuries, leaving devastation that extends far beyond the farm gate.”
WFI claims data from the past five years shows knees have been the leading bodily location for injuries, followed by lower back and shoulders.
Self-managed repairs to broken down machinery was recorded as a leading cause of injury, with examples of machinery not being properly disengaged prior to repairs commencing.
Mr Beer said behind these statistics were people, whose lives, properties and livelihoods have forever been changed.
“Safety must always be the central consideration when working on farms.”
