Share the load. Don’t work in isolation. Share knowledge with others.
The Australian Fodder Industry Association has a two-fold message for National Hay Safety Day as the busy harvest season ramps up.
“Firstly, share the load with others,” AFIA executive officer Vanessa Curtis said.
“Don’t attempt dangerous tasks on your own,”
“And also, share your knowledge with others.
“If it’s all in your head, how can you ensure the sustainability of the organisation if you are not around?”
The campaign has been an initiative of AFIA member and former director Suzanne Woods, a Western Australian hay grower whose father was tragically killed in an on-farm accident.
“Everyone deserves the right, and has the responsibility, to operate in a safe working environment, physically, mentally and emotionally,” Ms Curtis said.
“Our industry members are working with large, complicated machinery items.
They are sometimes working alone, often in remote areas.
“There are risk factors unlike any other business.”
The year has already seen evidence of the dangers:
- In February, a woman was fatally injured while operating an in-line silage wrapper on a Victorian farm.
- The following month, a hay exporter was fined $400,000 for the death of an employee crushed in machinery at Bridgewater near Bendigo.
- In April, a WA hay processing company was fined $595,000 and ordered to pay $5510 costs over a serious injury to a worker.
- Also in April, a man unloading bales of hay was crushed and killed at Toolleen.
“It makes good business sense to plan to be safe around fodder,” Ms Curtis said.
“But more than that, it’s a duty to your workers, your co-workers, your community and your family.”
AFIA has produced a checklist to help prepare for the season.
To read the checklist, visit https://tinyurl.com/ys2ybhha
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