The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) Making Our Farms Safer (MOFS) team has released a series of educational standard safe operating procedure videos that aim to support farmers in correctly carrying out some of the most high-risk tasks leading to incidents on Victorian farms.
VFF President Emma Germano said videos are designed to correctly display procedures and technologies available to help safeguard everyone on the farm.
“The videos include working with livestock, loading hay and using mix feeders, as working with livestock and machinery is sadly where we see the most serious injuries and fatalities on farms.”
“Last year across Australia there were 46 on farm deaths and 126 incidents causing injuries. We all have an obligation to make our farms safer and we hope these videos start conversations that lead to behavioural change.”
“If anyone watching these videos can gain insight on a better or safer way to carry out a task, and that change in method saves their life, then the educational videos will be achieving all that we hope they can,” Ms Germano said.
The video series is the latest tool developed as part of the VFF MOFS project to assist Victorian farmers in adopting better farm safety and health practices. The VFF MOFS project is part of the Victorian Government’s $20 million Victoria’s Smarter, Safer Farms program and Safer Farms election commitment, addressing skills and safety issues in the agriculture sector.
The VFF MOFS project has a dedicated website that is a farm safety hub housing resources, news and up to date information on farm safety, and where functions and farm visits can be booked.
You can view the videos series on the VFF Making Our Farms Safer YouTube channel here.