Agriculture and forestry

Agriculture is one of the most hazardous industries in the world. On the eve of the release of the latest GB figures, OSH professionals are bracing for a spike in fatalities in an industry renowned for its under-reporting.

Covid disruption, wide scale furloughing of workers and a 10% reduction in weekly hours worked has been accompanied by a 28% year-on-year increase in the number of work-related fatal accidents, according to Great Britain’s annual fatality statistics.

As #FarmSafetyWeek draws to a close, we look at a new report on fatal injuries in agriculture

The owners of a farm have been fined after an employee lost part of his leg when a wall panel trapped him during the build of a silage pit.

A marine fishing company has been fined £50,000 over health and safety offences that led to a crewman’s death nearly five years ago.

A tree surgeon from Devon had emergency surgery on his hand after his finger was sliced off by a log splitting machine.

The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) has published new guidance on the dangers associated with confined spaces on farms, after it was revealed farming is still the most dangerous industry in Ireland.

Vehicles are the leading cause of fatalities in Irish workplaces, according to new figures from the Republic of Ireland’s safety regulator the Health and Safety Authority (HSA). 

People who have sustained serious workplace injuries are at increased risk of suicide or fatal overdose, according to a study published in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine.

The Health and Safety Executive Northern Ireland (HSENI) has committed to ongoing inspections of farms to reduce the number of accidents. Farming was a “high-risk way of life from a health and safety point of view,” HSENI chief executive Robert Kidd told Farming Life magazine.