Farmer feedback sought to improve farm safety

The Victorian Farmers Federation’s Making our Farms Safer Project (VFF MOFS) is calling for farmer feedback to gauge the impact of the ‘Making our Farm Families Safer’ campaign, which aims to improve the safety of children on farms.

VFF President Emma Germano is urging farmers to complete a short anonymous survey that will be used to inform future campaigns and help reduce tragedy from striking Victorian farming families.

“We’re asking farmers themselves to do a short survey and let us know what worked as part of the campaign and what they’d like to see in future to assist us in our commitment to improve safety outcomes for children on farms.”

“This campaign couldn’t be more important. Recent figures from Agrifutures Australia reported 55 deaths on farms nation-wide in 2022, demonstrating that we must continue to work towards keeping every family member and employee safe on our farms,” Ms Germano said.

The ‘Making our Farm Families Safer’ campaign, including the Child Safe on Farms handbook, was initiated in response to a Coronial recommendation in 2021 following the death of seven children on farms between 2016 and 2021.

It launched during Farm Safety Week in July 2021 and is primarily aimed at providing information, tools and resources to those caring for children aged 10-15, who are performing farm work tasks.

Since launching, one campaign video featuring the Head of Trauma and Burns Unit at the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne, Dr Warwick Teague was viewed over 55,000 times on YouTube and the guidebook has been downloaded more than 1,000 times per month from the MOFS website.

“We know thousands of people viewed the campaign videos, read case studies and the guidebook. Now we’re asking farmers what they’d like to see in the future,” Ms Germano said.

The two minute survey and can be completed by visiting www.makingourfarmssafer.org.au and is open until 23 May 2023.

This initiative was developed by the Victorian Farmers Federation Making Our Farms Safer Project with support from KidSafe Vic, the TAC and FarmSafe Australia.