WorkCover focusing on sheep and beef cattle farming safety

The Sheep and Beef Cattle Farming Industry Action Plan is WorkCover NSW’s blueprint to reduce workplace injuries and illnesses, and improve injury management in one of the state’s highest risk industries.

The Industry Action Plan was launched by the General Manager of WorkCover’s Work Health and Safety Division, Peter Dunphy, and industry partners at a sheep farm 20 km west of Tamworth.

The project is part of WorkCover NSW’s flagship Focus On program, which aims to improve health safety and return to work outcomes in the highest risk industries in NSW.

Dunphy said the Industry Action Plan identified six major safety issues that WorkCover and industry will focus on to make the state’s more than 26,000 sheep and beef cattle farming businesses safer and more productive.

“The sheep and beef cattle farming industry is one of the state’s largest industries, accounting for $2.2 billion of the NSW’s agricultural industry’s $11.7 billion revenue,” Dunphy said.

“It is also one of the state’s highest risk industries with 1458 injuries and illness, including seven fatalities over the three years to July 2011 at a cost of more than $45 million to the NSW workers compensation scheme.

“Fatalities and serious injuries commonly involve mobile plant and vehicles including tractors, quad bikes and machinery, with the most common injuries being sprains and strains while handling animals, and being hit by, and falling from, animals.

“Farmers and farm workers are well placed to contribute to the development of work health and safety solutions.

“We will work closely with the farming industry to develop solutions to the six major health, safety and return to work issues so that rural workplaces can be safer and more productive.”

The six major safety issues for the sheep and beef cattle farming industry are:

1. Working with livestock
2. Quad bike use
3. Tractors and related implements and attachments
4. Occupational disease
5. Return to work and injury management
6. Child safety on farms

“We will address these issues by building relationships with those who can influence change, designing innovative solutions that produce sustainable change, engaging farmers and farm workers to build their capability, highlighting and sharing best practice from other workplaces and targeted activities in high-risk workplaces.

The Sheep and Beef Cattle Farming Industry Action Plan partners are NSW Farmers, Department of Primary Industries and Tocal Agricultural College, Australian Centre for Agricultural Health and Safety, Australian Lot Feeders Association, Australian Livestock and Property Agents, Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service and the Country Women’s Association.