FARMERS must draw on one another’s support as members of progressive rural communities if they are to reverse their industry’s concerning safety record, a high-profile event at the Great Yorkshire Showground heard.
The Future Farmers of Yorkshire, a group of younger farmers, vets and industry supporters, welcomed more than 100 members of the agricultural community to Pavilions of Harrogate on Wednesday, November 20.
The event represented the culmination of the group’s month-long #Fit2Farm social media-led initiative, attempting to normalise farmers’ mental and physical health and importance of wellbeing to farm safety. Latest figures from the Health and Safety Executive show that 39 people died as a result of farming or other agriculture-related activities in Britain in 2018/19.
Stuart Roberts, vice president of the National Farmers’ Union, said the industry needs to improve its farm safety record as every nine days, over the last five years, someone has died.
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