WorkSafe New Zealand was invited by Sven Thelning, Health and Safety Advisor at Thelning Systems and Phil Wilson, Director of Glenure Farms Limited, to lead a presentation to farmers at Phil's dairy farm in North Otago last month.
Two of our inspectors, Lynn Carty and Rob Bryson, attended the farm safety day and gave a presentation to about 30 farmers. Rob took the farmers through the WorkSafe priority areas and explained the inspectorate's current focus. He also provided information about creating a hazardous substances inventory and training records, which was well received.
![[image] North Otago farm safety day](https://www.worksafe.govt.nz/assets/About-us/News-and-media/image-north-otago-farm-safety-day.jpg)
"The safety day was great," says Sven Thelning, "It was excellent to get so many farmers together in one place and meet and hear from the inspectors. We saw firsthand that they don't bite. I hope that the day has given other farmers the confidence to invite WorkSafe to their farms and get some advice firsthand. We should be more preventative rather than be stressed out that something has happened."
Phil Wilson had organised for farm machinery to be available on site, which meant our inspectors could talk through and show the sampling process that's used when assessing working in and around vehicles. Rob also conducted a sample of hazardous substances used in the dairy shed, and how to use the hazardous substances calculator. Farmers in attendance were really interested in information around the use, storage, and disposal of hazardous substances used on farms.
Another key topic of conversation was the safe use of quad bikes, including using crush protection devices, towing limits of quad bikes, effectiveness of emergency communications, and overlapping duties with contractors.
"Every time we speak to Lynn we learn something, it's a different conversation every time. It's not just about making the black and white clearer, it's about practical experience. The best learning you can do is from Lynn, and other people's experiences," says Thelning.
We're grateful to have had the chance to engage with farmers on site in this way and would like to extend a huge thank you to Sven and Phil for organising the safety day. Thank you to the farmers who attended and asked questions, we're glad of the opportunity to share some guidance and influence safety practices on farms.
