Farmers push to protect families as on-farm deaths double

Seventy-two people died and there were 133 serious injuries in 2024, as farmers and authorities label the issue an emergency.

Farm deaths have doubled in the past 12 months, with vehicles the leading contributing factor, as farmers and authorities label the issue an emergency.

Seventy-two people died and there were 133 serious injuries in 2024, new AgHealth Australia data shows, up from 32 deaths in 2023 and 55 in 2022.

In Victoria, there were 16 deaths in 2024, up from seven in 2023.

Meanwhile, leading bodies said there must be a collective effort between farmers, industry leaders and policymakers to shift the figures.

“It’s double the amount of farming families who are facing grief and loss,” Mansfield farmer James Diamond said.

Mr Diamond co-founded AirAgri technology with his brother Paul to mitigate risks for their 94-year-old grandfather working on the farm with 400 Angus breeders and 400 Merinos. They also implemented a machinery pre-start checklist, safety meetings, and visitor inductions.

“The time it would take us to work out something has gone wrong went from hours to minutes,” he said.

“We’ve all worked way too hard to jeopardise generations of improvement.

“For generations you have done this in a particular way, you’ve done an incredible job at improving livestock or pasture, and in one fell swoop that could all be lost.”

Vehicles were the leading cause of death nationally, with 14 deaths related to side-by-sides, 10 to quad bikes, and eight to tractors.

Brett Hosking, with lentil crops, dog - Frankie, Oakvale, Picture Yuri Kouzmin

VFF president Brett Hosking said there had been strong support to shift to side-by-sides and introduce rollover protection.

“Side-by-sides are most certainly a better alternative to a quad bike, but don’t give the protection we’d hoped,” he said.

“There’s any number of factors that could be involved whether it be speed, unpredictable surfaces, as farmers we are dealing in the most unpredictable workplace and that is the Australian environment.”

He believed major contributing factors would be extreme weather, and labour shortages.

“We saw more farmers doing more jobs themselves simply out of necessity,” he said.

“When you’re hungry, tired, or under pressure, that’s when you’re more susceptible to accidents so we need to make sure we have a sustainable workforce to support our farmers.”

His own on-farm changes have included speed restrictions, high visibility wear, appropriate footwear and eye protection and general safety awareness.

AgHealth Australia’s farm safety research manager Kerri-Lynn Peachey said authorities and people mustn’t ignore the “warning”.

“Farm safety isn’t about red tape; it’s about keeping people alive. If we don’t act now, we will be having the same conversation in another 12 months — only with more names added to the toll,” she said.

Farmsafe Australia chair Felicity Richards said there must be a cultural shift regarding safety.

“This is not just a wake-up call – it’s an emergency,” she said.

“We cannot continue to accept farm fatalities and serious injuries as just part of life on the land.”