IAgrE backs Farm Safety Week raising awareness of the challenges facing the UK’s farming industry

The Institution of Agricultural Engineers (IAgrE) is supporting this year’s Farm Safety Week (14 18 February) organised by leading farming charity the Farm Safety Foundation.   

This week marks the 5th annual Mind Your Head week, raising awareness of the challenges facing the UK’s farming industry and the numbers of farmers and farm workers that might be struggling with poor mental health right now. 

The Farm Safety Foundation is bringing together nearly 400 key individuals and organisations from right across the UK to encourage everyone living and working in the industry to look out for each other and look after each other not just this week but every week… 

Charles Nicklin CEO of IAgrE said: “We are proud to support the annual Farm Safety Week campaign. This campaign is about challenging and changing poor attitudes to mental health and chipping away at the stigma that exists in the industry.  A farm incident whether fatal or causing serious trauma can have awful, potentially lifelong consequences for a business, not to mention a family. Injuries on our farms are still happening much more often than they should and this needs to stop,” 

For more information on ‘Farm Safety Week’ visit www.yellowwellies.org or follow @ yellowwelliesUK on Twitter/Facebook/Instagram. 

The Statistics: 

92% of UK farmers under 40 say mental health is one of the biggest hidden problems faced by farmers today. * 84% of farmers over the age of 40** * SOURCE: Farm Safety Foundation Annual Safety Tracker Under 40s Oct 2021 ** SOURCE: Farm Safety Foundation Over 40s research Jan 2022 

34% of farm worker deaths in 2020/2021 (HSE Fatal Injuries in Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing in GB report) 

44% of suicides registered in England and Wales in those working in the farming / agricultural industry in 2020. (Office of National Statistics) 

36% of the farming community are probably or possibly depressed (SOURCE: RABI Big Farming Survey Oct 2021) 

38% of women experience mild, moderate or severe anxiety (SOURCE: RABI Big Farming Survey Oct 2021)