Farmer recovering after being kicked, sat on by cow

'It was just one of those things,' said the wife of the farmer who was sat on by a cow. Photo / Thinkstock

A Waikato farmer seriously injured when a cow kicked him and sat on him is recovering from "a few bumps and bruises" and is keen to get back on the farm.

Murray Crawford, 57, was loading cattle beasts bound for the meatworks onto a truck in his Tihoi farm yard when the accident happened late on Monday afternoon.

No one witnessed the incident, which left the farmer of more than 30 years badly injured.

He was flown to Waikato Hospital by the Greenlea Rescue Helicopter in a serious condition.

His wife Mary Veltman told APNZ he was making a good recovery and was desperate to get home.

"Nobody likes hospital. He'll get to go home in the next couple of days possibly," she said.

"He's fine, he'll be right."

Ms Veltman said they may never know what exactly caused the steer to act the way it did.

In more than 30 years of farming cattle, Mr Crawford had never suffered such an accident, she said.

"It wasn't witnessed so we don't know [exactly what happened]," Ms Veltman said. "He was working in the yard with some big cattle beasts and somehow he got flattened."

A local stockman, who did not wish to be named, said Mr Crawford had been lucky to escape with "a few bumps and bruises".

"He'll be sore, and will need a few weeks off, but he'll be all right. It was just one of those things."

Waikato District Health Board said he was now in a stable condition.

Ms Veltman paid tribute to the professional actions of the rescue helicopter staff and ambulance paramedics.

She has been busy trying to keep the farm going since the accident, but has been flooded with offers of help from neighbouring farmers.

"There's plenty of support from the community, which is very heartening."