Helping our farmers look after themselves and their flock
Our biggest export is at the highest risk of injury, so we partner with Farmstrong to help keep those in the field safe.
Farmers are great at looking after their animals and their farms, but they also need to look after their most important asset on the farm: themselves and those who work in the business.
That's the message from ACC and Farmstrong as farmers all over New Zealand get ready to meet the workload of another demanding winter season.
Agriculture is New Zealand’s biggest export earner but it’s also one of our most high-risk industries.
In 2020, there were 22,796 farm-related injury claims accepted which came at a cost of $84 million to help people recover.
That's over 60 farmers getting injured every day. That’s a big impact on them, their families and the rural community when they get taken out of play.
Concern around the country
In all, ACC has spent more than $383 million on farm related injuries in the past five years, with the cost in 2020 the highest from this period.
Waikato has had the highest number of farming-related injuries in the past five years in New Zealand, ahead of other prominent farming regions: Canterbury (17,761), Manawatu-Whanganui (10,641) and Otago (9,659).
The top three types of farming injury in 2020 were soft tissue injuries (66 percent), laceration, puncture or sting (17 percent) and fracture / dislocation (6 percent).
While many businesses in 2020 adopted remote working and were affected by COVID-19, life for farmers carried on as normal and there was no break from the long hours.
Live well to farm well
Farmstrong is a rural wellbeing initiative for farmers and growers to help them ‘live well to farm well’.
It encourages farmers to share their stories and to look after themselves as well as they do their pasture and livestock.
In 2016 we became a strategic partner of Farmstrong, joining FMG and the Mental Health Foundation.
Last year we increased our investment to $3.5 million over the next five years.
The investment in Farmstrong is one of ACC’s injury prevention investments in the rural sector. Other investments include a subsidy on roll bars or crush protection devices for quad bikes.
We also partnered with the NZ Shearing Contractors Association and Federated Farmers to develop Tahi Ngātahi – an online training platform for shearers and other woolshed workers.
One in four farmers too stressed out
“Farmers spend their lives growing our food and milk and helping our economy, but they're not so great at looking after themselves,” says Virginia Burton-Konia ACC’s Head of Workplace Safety.
“We’re proud to be partnering with Farmstrong and its focus on simple tools like getting enough sleep, eating right and getting some exercise.
“Farmers can get better at putting in systems to look after the most important asset on the farm, themselves and those who work in the business.”
An ACC-funded study for Farmstrong shows 58 percent of recently injured farmers linked their accident to stress associated with farm work. A quarter of them said it was a major factor.
Exhaustion, lack of sleep, the stresses of farming, being isolated from friends and family, and being unable to take a break all add to the risks that a farmer or farm worker will have suffer an injury, the research shows.
“The support Farmstrong receives from ACC, alongside that provided by the founding partners Mental Health Foundation and FMG is key to being able to reach more farmers and growers over the next five years,” says Farmstrong spokesperson Gerard Vaughan.
Have a Hmmm
Last month we launched a new injury prevention campaign called Preventable.
The campaign lays down a wero (challenge) to all New Zealanders to stop and take a moment to assess the risks at home, work and play.
By taking a moment to prevent injury, they can keep doing the things they love and keep from harming others around them.
“We are challenging all New Zealanders to have a Hmmm,” says Virginia Burton-Konia.
“It’s important for everyone, especially farmers, to take a moment to think about what they are about to do and think about what could go wrong to prevent injury.”
By the numbers
Farm-related injuries
- In 2020, there were 22,796 farm-related injury claims accepted which came at a cost of $84 million to help people recover.
- In all ACC has spent more than $383 million on farm related injuries in the past five years, with the cost in 2020 the highest from this period.
- In the Waikato alone there were 4,405 farm related injury claims in 2020 which was higher than the previous two years.
- For more information on Farmstrong visit: https://farmstrong.co.nz/
Preventable
- ACC accepts over two million injury claims per year, that is over 5000 a day.
- These claims come at annual cost of $4 billion.
- It is estimated that 90 percent of all injury claims are preventable.
- ACC will invest $7.6 million in the Preventable campaign over the next two years, as part of its overall $80 million per annum investment into Injury Prevention.
