Farming safety reminder 'important', says farmer on the Gloucestershire-Worcestershire border
The Farm Safety Foundation's Farm Safety Week is currently taking place
A manager of a farm on the Gloucestershire-Worcestershire border has said it's vital everything possible continues to be done to reduce the risk of people being seriously injured while doing the job.
29 deaths occurred over a 12-month period between 2025/26 in agriculture, forestry and fishing in Great Britain, 22 of those being in farm workers.
The 14th annual Farm Safety Week is taking place this week (20-24 July), which brings together the industry and highlights key messages and ways for farmers to look after themselves and what can be done to help.
Organisers the Farm Safety Foundation have said their focus this year stretches beyond the fatalities and also on those who have survived an accident but are left with injuries.
Jake Freestone is the farm manager of Overbury Enterprises which is situated neat Tewksbury and covers parts of Gloucestershire and Worcestershire, he said the week is useful in acting as a reminder that safety should be a priority at all times.
"It's important that we don't just think about it for this week," he said.
"It needs to be a daily check of first thing in the morning how's everybody doing? Health and safety inspections, making sure machinery is properly looked after and livestock are properly handled.
"So it's a good opportunity to focus people's minds for this one week, but it's got to be over 365 days of the year."
Among the total of the 29 deaths in agriculture, forestry and fishing in Great Britain over 2025/26, seven were members of the public.
Three were also classed as children, Mr Freestone said getting the safety messages out there is so important.
"This farm safety week comes at a really busy time for farmers, we're in the middle of harvest where everybody's working long hours," he said.
"It's important even more so to stress the need to slow down and not rush around, be careful, be seen as well, so hi-vis jackets, lights on trailers and tractors, making sure they're all working to be safe on the road.
"The general public also need to just to be aware that just because there's a tractor moving along and it's going pretty slowly, it's not always best to try and overtake it on blind bends and things like that."