Farm Safety Week falls at the same time every summer, and every year the conversations that surround it become a little more pointed. The statistics aren't new. Agriculture remains the most dangerous industry to work in on a per-worker basis, and dairy farms — with their mix of heavy machinery, large animals, early starts and, often, long days — are overrepresented in the incident data.
Start with a proper risk assessment
Most farms we visit already have a written risk assessment. Most of them are also out of date. A useful test: can the person doing the milking tomorrow tell you what's in it, and have they ever read it?
The point of the document isn't compliance. It's a shared understanding of the quiet places the work goes wrong — the bulk tank hatch, the passageway between the collecting yard and parlour, the yard scraper when someone's eyes are tired. Review the assessment with everyone who steps onto the farm, including any relief workers, and treat the conversation itself as the important part.
PPE isn't optional, and neither is the fit
Boots, gloves, overalls, hearing protection in the parlour, eye protection when handling chemicals — it's all basic. What catches farms out is the quality. A pair of steel-toe boots that hurt the wearer's feet after four hours will come off. A set of ear defenders that's too tight will sit round their neck.
If you ask your workers what they'd replace first if they could, and act on the answer, you've taken the single most practical step on PPE that exists.
Fatigue is a safety issue
Dairy farmers work longer hours than almost any other profession. Fatigue doesn't show up in a statistic until the accident that follows it, and by then the conversation's a different one. Relief cover isn't a luxury for the overworked farm — it's a safety measure. A week off, honoured properly, prevents the kind of tired-at-6am decisions that injure people.
Mental health: the conversation that still needs having
The Farming Community Network and YANA (You Are Not Alone) have both been clear that the rate of suicide among farmers remains unacceptably high. Employers set the tone. If you ask how someone is and actually wait for the answer, that changes the culture of the yard more than any poster will.
How LKL fits in
Every worker placed through LKL is briefed on site-specific hazards by their regional manager before they start. We know the farms we send people to, we know the parlour layouts, we know the temperaments of the herds — and that familiarity is itself a safety measure.
If you'd like to talk through your staffing needs with farm safety in mind, your regional manager is a phone call away.
Talk to LKL
Every placement we make is briefed in person by a regional manager. If this article raised a question you’d like to talk through, we’re a phone call away.