Farm Safety Week commences this Sunday, 21 July and it is a timely reminder that our farmers are doing it tough in the face of this unprecedented drought.
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The public flow of support and the billions of dollars invested by state and federal governments has been well covered in the public domain, however it's sometimes the smallest things which we forget that can make all the difference during these times.
As the big dry continues, farmers alter their usual work practices across a range of activities on farm.
Whether it's switching to hand feeding, lopping trees or carrying out repair and maintenance work on machinery that often gets left by the wayside on a busy working farm, it's these activities in which farmers need to remind themselves of the risks associated to help prevent injury or in a worst case scenario, the loss of life.
With so many of our farmers doing it tough, the last thing they need is for a worker, visitor, family member or themselves to be seriously injured or killed.
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That is why this farm safety week our message for farmers is simple - get back to basics with health and safety on your farm.
It is often those small extra precautions that you take that make the difference in preventing a catastrophic incident on your farm.
Whether is stopping to give something a second thought, calling in a second opinion or simply reminding yourself and others to use personal protection equipment, it's those little actions that will make all the difference.
The other timely reminder is about reducing the potential for serious injury or death when operating a quad bike.
Quad bikes continue to be the biggest killer on Australian farms, with 32 fatalities in NSW since 2011.
Let me be abundantly clear, these are not toys.
These are powerful machines that can be too difficult to handle for even the most experienced riders.
SafeWork NSW continue to make free training available through Tocal College, as well as offering generous rebates for helmets, rollover bars, drones and side-by-side vehicles.
However it is imperative that if you have a quad bike on your property you look carefully at that machine before you or anyone else jumps on and ask yourself what is the price you are willing to pay for your life or the lives of your family.
All too often we are seeing quad bike accidents occurring, which is why I am pleading with farmers to think twice with quad bikes.
Keep the kids well away from them and ensure that adults are only riding them with a helmet on and a rollover bar attached.
Remember, Farm Safety Week is about you and your loved ones.
Protect yourself, protect your family.
