Farming continues to be the leading cause of workplace deaths in New Zealand, accounting for 40% of all reported fatalities.
The sector is now a priority sector for WorkSafe which is sinking a quarter of its resource into changing the statistics.
Inspections manager Rob Pope said 14 workers were killed on farms last year.
“It’s the highest fatality and risk industry that is reported and that is really unacceptable.”
Pope said the leading cause of death of farms was vehicles with the other concern being hazardous chemicals such as fertilisers.
“Quite often, it’s just inattention to the simple things that would make a difference between whether a seat at the table is empty or not. You can get lulled into a sense of false security and its that moment of inattention that can have really serious consequences.”
Agriculture is by far New Zealand’s most dangerous industry, with transport, postal and warehouse worker fatalities a distant second.
Pope said WorkSafe was “shifting its resource” to the areas of highest risk, namely agriculture.
ACC also announced earlier this month it was investing into the area by way of an $11 million partnership with Safer Farms to help reduce harm, injuries and fatalities in the sector.
The Farm Without Harm strategy aims to change behaviours to foster a stronger safety culture on farms.
Safer Farms chairperson Lindy Nelson said the investment was a significant boost to the programme, which has resonated with farmers since its launch in 2023.
“This support from ACC means we can amplify what we’ve already been doing, working with farming leaders and supporting farming people to protect each other from preventable harm.”
Federated Farmers arable chairperson David Birkett said lowering the death toll was something the advocacy group had been working on for a while.
“We are not seeing these numbers come down, so it is frustrating, but its not something that we will give up on.”