The Victorian Government announced today that the Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) will receive a $3 million 'Making our Farms Safer' grant to employ two farm safety officers and deliver new resources.
Serving farmers across Victoria, the farm safety officers will provide information and advice on improving farm safety, via on-farm safety walks designed to help farmers identify risks and the changes they can make to improve the safety of their farms.
The VFF will also use the funds to develop an online platform with a range of farm safety resources for Victoria's farmers that help them to adopt better farm safety and health practices.
On average there are around two serious injuries on Victorian farms every day and in the past five months six people have died while working on a farm.
Those at risk of injury or death on Victorian farms are not just farmers, but also farm families, employees, suppliers and contractors. To address this, there is a need to change the culture and mindset of people in agriculture to prioritise safety.
The government recognises that changing attitudes and improving the sector's focus on safe farming practices needs to be driven by industry to be best suited for industry, with the VFF helping to lead this change.
Other initiatives the government is implementing to change these attitudes include funding for Kidsafe Victoria and the National Centre for Farmer Health to run campaigns aimed at school students, and the establishment of the Farm Safety Council to advise on how to reduce farm injuries and deaths.
The Making our Farms Safer grant is part of the government's Victoria's Smarter, Safer Farms program
