Farmers in Kent are being urged to take extra care around livestock after they were found to be the number one cause of work-related deaths on British farms.

Now the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has put the dangers of livestock front and centre of its Your Farm, Your Future campaign which was relaunched this week.

Kent has one of the largest agricultural workforces in the country, with more than 12,000 farm workers employed. Around 40% of the agricultural holdings in the county deal with livestock.

HSE statistics show being injured by an animal was the number one cause of work-related deaths on British farms in 2022/23 – accounting for eight fatalities.

Agriculture remains one of the most dangerous of all the main industrial sectors across the country.

Last year’s HSE campaign focused on transport safety – it hopes its latest guidance will help cut down the number of deaths and injuries.

Adrian Hodkinson, agriculture lead at HSE, said: “Working with cattle and using vehicles are two very common activities in farming, but they bring a high risk of being very badly hurt.

“This campaign is focused on work with livestock and aims to stress how important it is to take sensible measures to keep animals and people apart. At the same time, we’ll be continuing to highlight the key things for the safe use of farm vehicles in and around the yard and sheds, but also out in the fields when checking, feeding, moving and caring for your herd.

“For example, ATVs (or farm quads) are commonly used on livestock farms. HSE has looked at the reported incidents and many show the user was doing something about farming the animals at the time of the overturn or crash. That’s why we are looking at raising awareness of both cattle safety and farm vehicle safety.”

Although the number of cattle is relatively limited in the county, around 50 agricultural holdings are devoted to dairy.

The HSE lead adds: “Agriculture consistently has a high rate of fatal and serious injuries of all main industry sectors in Great Britain. Over the past five years, the average fatal incident rate is 21 times higher in agriculture than the average across all other industries. That is a shocking statistic and sadly the impact on every affected farm is huge.

“Sometimes I see the incident lead to farming work stopping altogether, as the key person has life-changing injuries and can no longer work.

Over the past five years, the average fatal incident rate is 21 times higher in agriculture than the average across all other industries

“It’s time for us to make a change together to make our farms safer. We’re asking farmers to consider these areas of their daily farming activities and take the right actions to prevent another farming tragedy.”

The HSE says there are “sensible measures” that can be taken to keep animals and people apart but handlers should be in good health, agile and have the physical ability to do the work.

Together, livestock and farm vehicle incidents account for around half of all work-related deaths on British farms in the past five years. A total of 77 people lost their lives. Hundreds more are hurt in incidents involving moving vehicles and cattle on farms. Incidents involving moving vehicles remain the leading cause of death over the last five-year period.

Adrian Hodkinson added: “We understand the significant pressures faced by British farmers and want to support the farming community to show that safety on the farm doesn’t need to be difficult or expensive. There are simple steps you can take today to help keep you and everyone on your farm safe.

“Farmers and farm workers should take a moment to think about what would happen to their families and their farms if they were seriously injured and unable to work. When people on farms start their daily routine, they should follow our advice to help plan the job and complete it safely.”