Next week marks the sixth annual Farm Safety Week, the one week in the year when farming organisations, communities and government departments join forces to raise awareness of farming having the poorest safety record of any occupation in the UK and to inspire a real change in risk-taking behaviour.
Stephanie Berkeley outlines here why this should matter and why you should care… 
Did you know that farming accounts for 1% of the British workforce but 20% of all worker deaths?
Did you know that Farm Safety Week was started by our funder NFU Mutual back in 2013 and handed over to us in 2014? The initiative is now lead by the Farm Safety Foundation and supported by the England, Wales, N Ireland and Scotland Farm Safety Partnerships, the Health & Safety Executive, Health & Safety Executive for Northern Ireland and the Health & Safety Authority, Ireland.
Did you know that we are the only organisation committed to driving this change all year long, not just for one week every year?
Farming is important, not just to us as a farm safety charity, but to the UK economy and the conservation of our beautiful countryside. It is also an industry where many farmers work alone, against time pressures and encounter a variety of risks. As we see every day, in just a few seconds, a farm accident can change the lives of a farming family forever. Through national campaigns such as Farm Safety Week, Who Would Fill Your Boots? and Mind Your Head, the Farm Safety Foundation is supporting the industry and tackling the stigma around risk-taking and poor mental health, ensuring that that next generation of farmers is resilient and equipped with smart strategies and specific skills to live well and farm well.
More than ever, the industry is aware of the issue of farm safety however, next week, rather than focusing on agriculture’s poor safety record and stories of things going wrong, we are taking a different approach. They say good news doesn’t make good headlines but we’re going to challenge that. This year we’ll be talking about when things go right, sharing good practice and demonstrating what ‘good’ actually looks like. Throughout the week we will be sharing emotive stories on our blog, releasing a brand new new hero film on our Twitter and Facebook pages, working with a high profile pop star who went from music to mucking out and we will be combining learning with technology with the launch of our brand new Augmented Reality Yellow Wellies Experience App.
Please get involved in Farm Safety Week by visiting our blogs every day and following @yellowwelliesUK on Twitter/Facebook using the hashtag #FarmSafetyWeek
It’s your health. Your safety. Your choice!
