Agriculture has been identified by the HSE as a priority industry as along with the Construction industry it has one of the worst fatal accident records of any industry.

Key issues

HSE has found from proactive workplace inspection, accident investigation and the results of recent social science research that the key issues to address are:

• a deep-seated culture of unwise risk-taking in the industry;
• that many farmers are resistant to officialdom and feel that the industry is unduly burdened by regulation and red tape (derived from Government Departments as a whole, not just from HSE); and that
• health and safety is not yet universally regarded as integral to good farm business management.

Fatal accidents in agriculture

The provisional fatal injury rate in agriculture for 2005/06 was 8.3 fatalities per 100,000 workers - the highest of any industrial sector. Included in the definition of agriculture is horticulture, forestry and other related industries. In mainstream agriculture the area for particular concern is the self-employed.

The main causes of death to workers continue to be:

• transport (being run over or vehicle overturns)
• falling from a height (through fragile roofs, trees etc) 
• struck by moving or falling objects (bales, trees etc) 
• asphyxiation / drowning
• trapped by something collapsing or overturning
• Contact with machinery 
• livestock related fatalities 
• contact with electricity

We have tried to represent issues, regulations and guidance in a way which will be clear and easy to follow.

Together with the Industry Specific Sector within this website we hope this will enable you to work more safely in your industry.

Should you have any additional queries, remember you can always 'Ask the Expert'