A new on-farm safety platform will provide measures to prevent injury and report information at regional, state and national levels
The Rural Safety and Health Alliance has launched Ag Safety Data Net, a platform it says will provide meaningful metrics for farm safety planning.
As the agricultural sector aims for zero on-farm fatalities, the ASDN project will develop and implement an ongoing data system that aims to reinforce a collective responsibility for on-farm safety.
In an industry-first, it will also report farm-injury information at regional, state and national levels – while ensuring the privacy and confidentiality of information.
The project is being funded by the Cotton Research and Development Corporation, Grains Research and Development Corporation, Australian Wool Innovation, Australian Pork Limited, and AgriFutures Australia.
Chair of Farmsafe Australia, Felicity Richards, highlighted the urgency of addressing the rate of farm injuries, particularly as harvest and hay/silage seasons approach.
“We are seeing up to 40 fatalities and an increase in serious injuries on Australian farms each year,” Richards says.
“Despite this, there is no single source of truth for all key injury measures. Therefore, by centralising this information, ASDN will make it easier to highlight issues and trends more easily.”
ASDN will also provide measures that aim to prevent injury through practical actions that farmers can take.
AgriFutures Australia says farm-related deaths and injuries reported this year have already exceeded those from 2023.
“Machinery dominates farm incidents, especially during harvest and peak periods such as hay/silage production,” Richards says.
“We urge farmers to take regular breaks to combat fatigue during long workdays.”
AgriFutures Australia Senior Manager, Rural Futures, Ulicia Raufers says with limited technical capacity for farm-specific analysis, most reports only offer high-level descriptions of fatalities, with fewer than half of on-farm injuries recorded.
“Quality information is crucial for understanding the issues and taking appropriate action,” Raufers says.”
“By using ASDN, the agriculture sector can significantly improve safety outcomes and reduce fatalities, a goal that we all desperately want to see become a reality.”
The ASDN project is co-ordinated by AgHealth Australia and will run through until June 2027.