CLA President and Yorkshire landowner William Worsley was today (Wednesday joining other industry leaders in pledging to improve the safety record of people working in agriculture and forestry.

The launch of the Farm Safety Charter follows a ground-breaking industry summit held last year to find tangible ways of bolstering farm safety and reducing deaths and injuries.

Mr Worsley said: “In 2010, agriculture became statistically the most dangerous industry in the country.

“Over the past 10 years, 455 people have died on British farms and in other land-based enterprises. This equates to almost one death every week. In the same period, a further 1,700 people were seriously injured.

“These figures should be a wake-up call for everybody involved in farming.”

Mr Worsley said the organisations involved in land-based industries had now joined forces and were committed to working together to bring about improvement.

He said it was time to drive down the number of preventable deaths and avoidable accidents by providing practical advice, training and guidance on how farms could be made safer.

The CLA president said: “This charter is important because we now have a mandate to bring about a real change in the culture, attitude and behaviour towards farm safety. We are committed to raising awareness of the risks and dangers that affect people working in what are often difficult and unpredictable situations.”

He added: “We need to demonstrate that a good safety record is proof of a professional and modern industry, because behind these shocking statistics are the personal tragedies of hundreds of families who have suffered the needless loss of a father or son. We need to do better.

“I am determined the CLA will help to provide the clear leadership needed so that, working together, we can take positive steps to bring about a lasting improvement in the industry’s safety performance.”

Union backs safety charter

NFU president Peter Kendall has given his backing to the Farm Safety Charter.

“We know this is an unpredictable job and we have to cope with long hours, difficult working conditions and often working alone, but as an industry we must work together to raise awareness and drive these figures down,” he said.

“Last year’s summit gave us the chance to build a coalition with full commitment from all the parties involved and we have now agreed to take positive steps to make a real difference to farm safety.

“The NFU is determined to provide leadership by recognising its responsibilities to promote safe systems of work.