As harvesting season begins WorkSafe is urging farmers be extra vigilant, after two farmers have died in less than a week.
Two farmers have also been hospitalised with life-threatening injuries.
According to WorkSafe, three of the incidents in the past week, including a fatality last Monday, involved harvesting or grass-cutting operations.
A 68-year-old man died on Tuesday when he was run-over by a tractor and slasher he had been repairing near Elmhurst.
Two other men working as contractors near Yarram in South Gippsland and Nalinga near Violet Town were also badly hurt at the weekend when machinery re-activated as blockages were cleared.
The weekend’s incidents follow the death of a man near Nagambie last Monday who was crushed when a hydraulic failure resulted in a slasher coming down on him as he worked to remove tangled wire underneath.
WorkSafe’s general manager of operations, Lisa Sturzenegger said the past week built on a tragic year which included nine of the state’s 18 work-related deaths happening on farms.
“Our weekend emergency response call-taker said it was the worst weekend he’d experienced in more than 15 years,” she said.
“It is only the start of the harvest season and with a bumper crop expected in most regions the dangers often seen in farming will be magnified, particularly if the weather turns and people rush to get crops in,” said Sturzeneger.
Sturzenegger urges farmers take time to think through the problem, and ensure safety is the top priority.
“Safety is about dealing with the potential risks whether you’ve done the job once or a thousand times. It’s about knowing what can go wrong - such as machinery blockages - and knowing what to do about it – safely.”
The recent incidents come after the launch of a WorkSafe’s statewide ‘Any Day Now’ campaign which reminds people of their obligations to health and safety.
Image courtesy.