NATIONAL Hay Safe Day was held last month, looking at safe practices when working and living around bales of hay and silage.
This year’s theme of National Hay Safe Day was ‘Making every day safe around hay’.
National Hay Safe Day is an initiative that arose from a tragic farm accident more than a decade ago.
It comes as Farmsafe Australia figures show that last year there were 46 deaths and 128 injuries from farm-related accidents
The Australian Fodder Industry Association has fodder safety briefs on telehandler safety, traffic management plans, and worker training and safety signs, as part of recent hay safe initiatives.
The association’s chair, Brad Griffiths, said these deaths and injuries had “devastating ripple effects” across families, communities and industries.
“Machinery and livestock present obvious safety risks on farms, but the fodder industry has additional hazards, like stacking, unstacking, storing and transporting hay and silage,” he said.
“Large square hay bales can weigh up to 600 kilograms, so it’s vital to implement safe handling techniques and practices for the safety of you, your workers and your family.”
Mr Griffiths said he was using Safe Ag Systems Software on his South Australian farm to help roll out workplace health and safety practices.
It was providing resources in training and inductions, identifying major hazards, safe practices, mental health and fatigue management.
“Putting safety into practice has resulted on-farm efficiencies and savings, but most importantly, it’s kept us all safe,” he said.
“Predictions are that we have more wet weather ahead, so why not take the opportunity to implement your own systems and have a chat about your business safety over lunch with your workers?”
