Latest farm death leads to call for education

As investigations continue into the death of a 47-year-old man in a tractor accident on a property off the Napier-Taihape Rd on Tuesday, the head of Wanganui Federated Farmers says the younger generation could hold the key to reducing the emotional and economic costs of farm-related deaths in New Zealand.
The farm employee, whose name is yet to be released, died at the scene after his tractor rolled on the remote farm at Mangaohane about 1.30pm. The Department of Labour is investigating the incident.
In the wake of the death, Wanganui Federated Farmers president and part-time agricultural tutor Brian Doughty is continuing to advocate education over legislation to reduce on-farm deaths.
"This latest fatality is very sad and we feel for the family, but farming is widely recognised as a dangerous occupation and complacency has no place on the farm," he said.
Alan John Newland was previously the last person killed in a farm accident in the greater Wanganui region after his tractor rolled on him in August 2010. The accident happened while the 64-year-old was using the machine on a section of steep country on the family farm in Karahaki Rd in south Taranaki.
"Unfortunately, the average age of farmers and farm workers is quite old in this country and many are set in their ways, so what we are doing is targeting the younger generation of potential farmers in rural schools.
"Just the other day I had talks with police involved in farm safety programmes in rural schools around Wanganui. We believe if the really young are taught about on-farm safety they will have the most influence over their parents of anyone. They will also carry those safety messages through to later life.
"People need to recognise that machines like quad bikes can, and do, kill people. But animals are no different because they are totally unpredictable and a lot of people haven't learned to handle animals safely.
"Tractors are exactly the same and people are putting tractors into situations where they should never be," Mr Doughty said.
He said farmers remained a difficult group to educate in matters of farm safety. The industry did have representatives working in Farm death leads to call for education a number of areas "but how you educate people is a different story".
"The suggestion has been made that we start a lot younger because you're probably not going to make a lot of headway with someone aged 50 or 60.
"I would have trouble going and telling a 60-year-old dairy farmer that he learns to ride his quad or drive his tractor properly," Mr Doughty said.
He said there were a number of programmes running in secondary schools, along with other private providers running farm courses.
Mr Doughty said the industry could look at funding and supporting courses that taught farm staff how to ride ATVs and tractors properly, "maybe something running alongside drivers' licences".
"I think ACC would welcome the idea of being able to get people to train to handle animals properly too. There is information available about that sort of thing but again not everyone is bothering to read it."
Mr Doughty said he always thought that if farmers continued to show ACC that they were following safe farm practices, the payoff would be reduced ACC levies.
"For those who didn't show those safe practices and continued to have accidents, they would be penalised through increased levies.
"If they were a higher risk then they would pay more."