FarmSafe Programme

Up to 11 farmers are seriously injured every day in New Zealand. Picture / Kate Taylor

The course

One farmer or grower is killed every two to three weeks and up to 11 are seriously injured every day - statistics that three years ago prompted Federated Farmers and ACC to initiate the FarmSafe courses.

The first - FarmSafe Awareness - began in October 2003 and since then nearly 20,000 people have attended it and other short, community-based courses offered by a network of regional co-ordinators.

A one-day, introductory programme, FarmSafe Awareness, is designed to heighten the awareness of farm employers and staff of injury prevention.

In 2004, two other programmes were launched. FarmSafe Plans is a one-day course teaching skills in developing and implementing a farm health and safety plan. FarmSafe Skills is a two-day workshop covering ATV and motorbike riding, agrichemical use, tractor driving, and chainsaw usage.

Recently, an approved agrichemical handler workshop was launched for farmers and growers who store and use agrichemicals and who will need to gain agchem handling certification by January next year to meet requirements under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act.

Other workshops in the pipeline will cover animal handling and 4WD driving.

Workshop hours are flexible to take into account local circumstances but generally run from 9am to 3pm. The agchem workshop is slightly longer, running between 8.30am and 5pm. The courses are often offered in community halls but can be held on farms that have high staff numbers or at which a number of neighbours gather.

Students studying FarmSafe Awareness study the causes of injury in the farming sector and how to minimise, isolate and eliminate hazards.

On the FarmSafe Plans course they study the statutory health and safety requirements, the essential parts of a health and safety plan and how to implement it. Written assessments are part of both courses.

At the FarmSafe Skills workshops attendees focus on developing their practical riding and handling skills, which are assessed from written and practical assessments.

Students who complete each of the programmes gain credits towards a range of NZQA qualifications.

Entry to all the programmes are free to New Zealand and Australian citizens aged over 16 but those studying the agchem handler programme are required to completed a FarmSafe Awareness programme.

Courses are offered continually on an on-demand basis and class size varies according to specific workshops and the demand. 

 
The graduate

Ben Stock, 34,
Dairy farmer
Ashburton

We milk 1020 cows with four fulltime staff and a part-timer. We thought we needed to do the courses just to comply with OSH requirements but we got hooked.

We've done all the courses now except the approved chemical handling one and that's next. I did one - FarmSafe Awareness - and about a year ago my wife, Maryanne, did FarmSafe Plans. The four permanent staff, who are men aged between 23 and 35, have also done them. We've grasped it with both hands. It seemed quite a big thing to be FarmSafe compliant but we broke it up into little bits.

At first it seemed like just dotting the Is and crossing the Ts but now we feel we owe it to our staff, the guy we sharemilk for and ourselves. The thing is the longer you are in farming the more likely it is you will have an accident. I worried at first as the staff were hesitant at first, but they've appreciated it and taken it on board.

You wouldn't see much difference on our farm to a non-complying one - just a few signs here and there - but we've gone around and pointed out the hazards so staff know them. When we have a near miss or an accident we record it, put in place measures so it doesn't happen again or, if we can, eliminate it.

For example, there's a road crossing through our farm that cows and staff cross all the time. A guy went out there the other day and nearly collected a car. We've put up a stock crossing sign now. Another one is that when we are feeding out, the trailer must be stationary before we get on.

We recommend the courses to other people and have tried to get people along. We've hosted most of the courses and you get the neighbours along to make up numbers and then you find them doing [safety] things.

The qualification
FarmSafe Programme
Offered by the FarmSafe consortium - Agriculture ITO, Agriculture New Zealand and Telford Polytechnic.

Contact: www.farmsafe.co.nz
Phone: 0800 545 747