HSENI joins campaign to highlight the reality of life-changing farm injuries
Date published:
It only takes one decision, one shortcut or one missed hazard to bring a devastating change to the lives of a farming family and their business, HSENI and the Farm Safety Partnership (FSP) has warned.
Speaking on the first day of the 14th national Farm Safety Week campaign, HSENI Principal Agriculture Inspector Rachel Hamill said one lapse in concentration can change a life forever.
"Every serious injury starts with a moment that nobody expected. A routine task can become a life-changing event in seconds if something goes wrong.
"Whether you're working with livestock, operating machinery, working at height or moving vehicles around the yard, taking a few moments to assess the risks could prevent an injury that affects you and your family for the rest of your life.
"This Farm Safety Week we're asking everyone involved in farming to remember one simple message: it only takes one. One decision to work safely can be the decision that gets you home at the end of the day."
The UK and Ireland-wide campaign is led and funded by The Farm Safety Foundation (Yellow Wellies) and runs from 20-24 July 2026.
This year's campaign focuses on the reality of serious and life-changing injuries on farms, highlighting that while every statistic represents a person, the impact of an incident reaches far beyond the individual involved.
In Northern Ireland, agriculture remains one of most dangerous industries with 57 fatalities over the last 10 years. Despite ongoing improvements in awareness, preventable incidents continue to leave farmers, family members and workers with injuries that can permanently affect their health, independence, livelihood and quality of life.
Throughout Farm Safety Week, HSENI and the FSP will encourage farmers to take practical steps to reduce risk by slowing down, avoiding shortcuts and making safe decisions before starting every task.
Harry Sinclair, Chair of the Farm Safety Partnership added:
"Farmers are under constant pressure from the weather, workloads and time. We understand those pressures, but no job is so urgent that it should be carried out unsafely.
"Every farm has hazards, but every farmer also has opportunities to reduce those risks. Taking time to plan the job, maintaining equipment, using the correct safety measures and speaking up if something doesn't look right can make all the difference."
During the week, the campaign will examine the human impact of farm injuries, what to do if you are first on the scene of an incident, how behaviours and habits can contribute to accidents, and how everyone in agriculture can play a role in creating a safer future for the industry.
HSENI and the FSP are encouraging farmers, contractors, agricultural workers and farming families to use Farm Safety Week as an opportunity to pause, review how work is carried out and identify one change that could make their farm safer.
Top safety reminders
- stop and think before starting any job
- never take unnecessary shortcuts
- make sure machinery and equipment are properly maintained
- work safely around livestock and moving vehicles
- use suitable equipment for working at height
- speak to family members and workers about the day's tasks and potential hazards
- carry your mobile phone with you
Notes to editors :
- Farm Safety Week 2026 runs from 20-24 July in the UK and Ireland. It is supported in Northern Ireland by the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) and the Farm Safety Partnership (FSP).
- The Farm Safety Foundation (Yellow Wellies), is an independent registered charity working throughout the UK to address the attitudes and behaviours to farm safety and poor mental health in the next generation of farmers (under 40 years) with the aim of reducing the number of farmers and farm workers suffering life-changing and life-ending injuries in the workplace and making our farms safer places to work, to live and to visit.
- From 2015 - 2025 the cause of farming deaths were:
- Equipment - 25
- Falls/Falling objects -15
- Animals -14
- Slurry - 2
- Other - 1
- The Farm Safety Partnership’s ongoing ‘Stop and Think SAFE’ farm safety campaign focuses on the four main causes of death and injury on our farms – slurry, animals, falls, and equipment (SAFE). Farm Safety checklist
- For information on the FSP visit The Farm Safety Partnership
- For media enquiries, please contact HSENI Press Office on 028 9024 3249 or email media@hseni.gov.uk. For out-of-office hours, please contact the Duty Press Officer on 028 9037 8110.
- HSENI is the lead body responsible for the promotion and enforcement of health and safety at work standards in Northern Ireland.