New HSE data shows that 22 farm workers were killed on farms in England, Scotland and Wales in 2025/26.
The highest number of fatalities in over a decade, the figures find that farm workers are seven times more likely to be killed than those in construction. Half of those killed were aged 65 and over, and 10% of all fatalities involved children.
With all of this in mind, Farm Safety Foundation launches its 14th annual Farm Safety Week. Running all this week (July 20th-26th), it aims to challenge and change the attitudes to risk-taking and working safely that give farming the poorest safety record of any occupation in the UK.
Led and funded by the Farm Safety Foundation, this year’s campaign is also focusing on the thousands of life-changing injuries farmers live with every year.
Latest figures show around 9,000 workers in the sector are suffering from work-related ill health, with 67% linked to musculoskeletal disorders, while an estimated 8,000 non-fatal workplace injuries have occurred over the last five years. Nearly half of farmers under 40 (49.7%) are more worried about ending up with a disability than about dying in a farm accident.
“When we talk about farm safety, fatalities understandably dominate the conversation, but serious injuries can be just as life‑changing,” says Stephanie Berkeley, manager of the Farm Safety Foundation. “The reality is that there are no such things 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, 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.”
The campaign comes as the UK is currently experiencing high summer temperatures. During periods of extreme heat, the risks extend beyond sunburn, is the message. Dehydration, heat stress, fatigue and poor concentration can all increase the likelihood of mistakes around vehicles, livestock, machinery and working at height. These are the same hazards that already dominate the sector’s serious and fatal injury record.
“If we are really serious about making our farms safer, we must broaden the conversation,” adds Stephanie. “We must take injuries just as seriously as fatalities and recognise that preventing harm, not just death has to be our goal.”
More information on Farm Safety Week: www.yellowwellies.org
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