Farm deaths make it one of state’s most dangerous occupations

Last year’s figures of traumatic deaths in agriculture reveals a concerning statistic about on-farm accidents.

WorkSafe data reveals the human toll within the agriculture sector in 2022, with eight fatalities and 546 approved injury claims across one of Victoria’s most dangerous industries.

Despite representing only two per cent of the state’s workforce, agriculture accounted for about 14 per cent of all traumatic deaths in Victorian workplaces last year.

Statistics from Victoria’s workplace health and safety regulator shows eight agriculture industry fatalities were recorded in 2021 and nine in 2020.

The number of injury claims in 2022 were also on a par with previous years, with 574 claims accepted in 2021 and 530 in 2020.

There were two deaths and 28 injury claims from 2020 to 2022 as a result of quad bike accidents.

On-farm fatalities are over-represented in Victoria’s traumatic workplace death data. Picture: Sarah Matray

The local government areas with most 2022 claims were Wellington with 34, Corangamite, 30, and Greater Shepparton, 26.

WorkSafe Executive Director of Health and Safety Narelle Beer said that agriculture incidents are preventable, not inevitable.

“No one, no matter how experienced, is immune to the risk of death or life-changing injuries and these incidents can happen where safety is not a priority,” Dr Beer said.

“A successful farm is a safe farm. Putting safety at the top of your business planning not only prevents tragedies, it’s also an investment in productivity and staff retention.”

Of the deaths, a 55-year-old man died while operating a telehandler in Willaura, on a western Victorian property on December 15 and a 74-year-old man was killed in a quadbike accident in Western Victoria on December 20.

A 54-year-old man died on a farm northeast of Ararat on May 25 after a hopper machine incident and a 55-year-old man was crushed between trucks on a property at Cowwarr, near Traralgon, on July 5.

On June 29, an 82-year-old farmer died following a harvester accident near Gembrook and a 66-year-old man died after falling through a roof at a Monbulk plant nursery.