Monday 20 July marked the start of the 14th annual Farm Safety Week. Farm Safety Week is an annual event run by the Farm Safety Foundation and supported by the National Farmers’ Union, which aims to promote safe working practices and challenge attitudes to risk-taking in the agricultural profession.
The most dangerous profession in the UK
In 2025/26, twenty-two farm workers were killed on British farms. This fatality rate makes farming the most dangerous profession in the UK, with workers in agriculture, forestry and fishing roughly seven times more likely to be killed at work than those in construction.
Whilst fatalities on farms often make the news, this year’s campaign will focus on the long-term, life-changing consequences of serious injuries – injuries that farmers, workers and families must live with long after the headlines fade.
Not just fatalities, but life-changing injuries are high as well
Stephanie Berkeley, Manager of the Farm Safety Foundation, said: “When we talk about farm safety, fatalities understandably dominate the conversation, but serious injuries can be just as life changing. The reality is that there is no such thing as a papercut on a farm, and the margin between a near miss, a serious injury and a fatal incident is often frighteningly small.
“A fall from height, an encounter with machinery, or a vehicle incident – these don’t always result in death, but they can leave someone living with chronic pain, reduced mobility, disability or an inability to continue working. That impact doesn’t stop with the individual; it affects the family, the farm business and the community as a whole.”
With around 8,000 farm workers sustaining injuries each year, some of which are life-changing, it isn’t a surprise that a Farm Safety Week survey found that nearly half of farmers under 40 (49.7%) are more worried about ending up with a disability than they are about dying in a farm accident.
Ill health due to longterm heavy physical labour is another problem
A serious injury sustained in an accident is not the only danger of farm work. The long-term consequences of repeated physical labour can also be catastrophic, and around 9,000 agricultural workers are currently suffering from work-related ill health, two-thirds of which are linked to musculoskeletal disorders.
Stephanie Berkeley added:
“If we are really serious about making our farms safer, we must broaden the conversation. We must take injuries just as seriously as fatalities and recognise that preventing harm, not just death, has to be our goal.”
The campaign also comes as the UK is experiencing its third official heatwave of the year, with the Farm Safety Foundation warning that such weather could increase the risk of serious and fatal incidents.
Hot weather can increase the risk of injury
As well as increasing the risk of an accident due to fatigue and dehydration, the Farm Safety Foundation is also keen to highlight the long-term risks of sun exposure. Agricultural workers receive five to ten times more annual sun exposure than people who work indoors, and one farm worker will die every month from skin cancer as a direct result of this.
As well as challenging the long-standing misconception that only fatal injuries matter, Farm Safety Week also wants to shine a light on the people behind the statistics to show the real-life, long-lasting impact of a serious injury.
Throughout the week, the charity will work with farmers, families, industry bodies and the wider rural community to encourage reflection, conversation, education and, most importantly, action.
For more information on Farm Safety Week, visit www.yellowwellies.org or follow @yellowwelliesUK on Instagram, Facebook and X using the hashtag #FarmSafetyWeek.
After a press release by The 10 Group.
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