The HSE has upped its game when it comes to farmer safety this month, as accident claims rise by a third during wintery conditions. The organisation has launched its latest stage of the ‘Make the Promise’ campaign, which urges farmers to be more safety conscious and promise to their families and communities that they will come home safely at the end of the day. Agriculture still remains one of the most dangerous jobs with a high work accident death and injury rate. During the past 10 years more than 450 people were killed in farm-related incidents. An example of such accidents is one man who lost his arm in a horrific scene. He now takes it upon himself to warn other farmers of the hazards that lurk in the ploughing fields, and to remember health and safety standards this winter. Farm accident The farmer, then 23, had been brought up on a small farm in Warwickshire and had set up his own contracting firm. One wintery morning in January 2005 he received a call from a friend asking if he could help process green waste on a different site, as there were extra machines going spare. The personal injury occurred when he caught his arm in the PTO shaft in a tractor. The worker recalled the terrifying event: “I was asked to empty water from underground storage tanks using a tractor and a vacuum tanker. I set up all the machinery and had everything running satisfactorily. “The two ground men who were helping with the job then asked if I thought the pump was working properly as no water was being sucked up through the pipe into the tanker. I got down from the tractor, leaving it running while I checked the operation. “I went to the pump end of the vehicle and leaned over the tractor from the offside to put my hand against the exhaust. If air was blowing through, then the system was working. I was wearing a fluorescent safety vest at the time and I remember starting to pull my hand away. As I did, the PTO shaft on the machinery caught the corner of the vest and then what happened initially seemed to be in slow motion. “I remember putting out my hands to resist being pulled in and get myself out of the machine. But in a split-second, the vest was wrapped around the shaft. “I was flung from where I had been standing right over the right over the top of the tractor. The PTO shaft had ripped all my clothing, shirt and jumper and my left arm completely off.” Sadly doctors could not restore the victim’s arm. However he has taken his experience and has turned it into a positive, as he is now warns other famers about agricultural dangers. He said: “My message to everyone is: Be careful. Never use tractors or machinery with unguarded power take offs in any circumstance; switch off machinery if you need to check a blockage or fault.” Tough working conditions HSE 2009 data revealed that 38 people died in farming incidents between January and November, taking the total for the decade to 455. In addition, 589 were seriously injured. Despite only 1.5% of the population working in the agricultural sector, farm incidents account for one in five work-related-deaths. According to the group, the majority of fatalities (27%) were due to moving machinery, whilst (26%) of deaths occurred due to lifting, carrying or handling objects. 15,000 farmers have signed up to the ‘Make a Promise’ scheme so far, in an attempt to reduce work accident claims.