QUAD bikes, tractors, motorbikes and horses are a common staple of life on the land, but according to recent data from AgHealth Australia, unsafe use is seeing North Queenslanders top the charts for on-farm fatalities.
The report, Non-intentional farm-related incidents in Australia - January-December 2023, states that "since 2001, 1742 people have lost their lives on a farm due to non-intentional injury in Australia".
AgHealth Farm Safety Research Manager Kerri-lynn Peachy said while injuries are sparsely scattered across the state, it was the northern region that suffered the most loss of life.
"Unfortunately half of those are quad bike injuries, followed by horses due to a lack of helmets, and cattle due to people being trampled in the yard - that comes back to appropriate yards and working together with people instead of working alone, and motorbikes due to a lack of helmets," she said.
"(The injuries) are more within the sugar cane regions...and are more prominent with tractors."
Out of 122 non-fatal injuries that occurred on Australian farms last year, Queensland recorded eight people under 15 years injured and another 52, aged over 15 years - the highest in Australia.
"For Queensland, it's quad bikes. The biggest thing we're seeing is there is no Operational Protection Device fitted to the bikes," Ms Peachy said.
"So we're asking farmers, the most important thing is if they have an old quad, get it fitted with an OPD...which can save a life. The roll bar stops the asphyxiation of the operator...and a head helmet - they're not using them.
"The new quad bikes that are now coming out have an OPD already fitted, but they're being removed and we need to ensure people are not removing them.
"Some people say it's because they'll hit the tree, but most of them now have a flexible arm or bar so if they make contact with a tree, it flicks back. And they say they're in the road of putting on a tray or a spray tank on the back of a quad."
While Ms Peachy said a younger generation, transferring stringent Workplace Health and Safety procedures from the mines or other industries to the farm, is resulting in a "culture shift", there is still a nonchalance when it comes to on-farm safety in the older generations.
"Unfortunately, (the older generation) won't do anything until it's a near miss or they're personally impacted by someone being injured or a fatality," she said.
While other states including NSW have financial incentives to install OPDs on their quads, Queenslanders are unfortunately having to cop the cost of the fit-outs.
"Since June 30 2023, the (NSW Quad Bike Safety Rebate Program) has provided over $10m in safety rebates and delivered free accredited quad bike and SSV training to over 2200 farmers and farm workers. Each trained participant also received a free helmet," Ms Peachy said.
"From July 1 2023, OPDs and compliant helmets (became) available to eligible businesses under the NSW Small Business Rebate for safety improvements to a maximum value of $1000.
"This is one area where Queensland is really lacking."
Ms Peachy also said that while the state has had a financial incentive to transition to safety vehicles, side-by-side vehicles, people were still suffering injuries after failing to use the seat belt and being ejected from the vehicle when they had an accident.
FarmSafe Australia committee member and Professor of Public Health at James Cook University, Dr Richard Franklin, has spent years researching farm and agricultural industry safety, and more recently has focused on quad bikes and strategies to prevent fatalities.
"Unfortunately in Queensland we don't have the same legislations as other states...which require people to have an OPD on the back of the bike. We've been pushing for that for a while, it would be nice to see," he said.
"We see more deaths in particular because people get crushed by the bike...it rolls on top of them and they're crushed beneath. A number of people are still alive...and (the bike is) crushing them for a while (before they unfortunately die).
"Research shows that when bikes go over and land on top of someone, moving 250-700kg (depending on the bike) is very difficult and an OPD allows there to be a gap and the person can wriggle out...it can save people from death.
"(And) head trauma, when they come off the bike and hit their head. That's why a helmet is super important...but we have issues with heat so people are (choosing) a broad brimmed hat over a helmet."
Dr Franklin said the two main causes of death he had found through his research were from quad bikes and tractors.
"(With) tractors, it's making sure they have a (Rollover Protective Structure) on. Also, people are being run over," he said.
"They'll have them running along if they're feeding out, which happens in drier weather with less feed...people try to start them and they're arcing power to the battery and they jump forward and crush them...or the brakes are not working and they roll into them.
"(I'd also like to share a) constant reminder about alcohol and drugs and working on farms. Obviously this shouldn't occur...and while most farms are pretty good about it, there is the occasional party where people have a few beers and jump on the quad or also in the side-by-sides.
"We want people to do their work safely and get home at the end of the day."
To create the bi-annual report, AgHealth uses a media monitoring outlet to capture the deaths and injuries that occur on farms across the country.
"The reason (the report) was initiated was because...if we had to wait for the national coronial system, we could be waiting three years and there could be significantly more (injuries and fatalities) in that period," Ms Peachy said.
"It's only a snapshot, the numbers within these reports. It will most likely increase as not all the numbers are captured within the media.
"We need this (reporting) to let the industry know what's going on. Unfortunately the average cost of a fatality if approaching $3.5m, and with that, as there is such a lack of skilled labour in the ag industry, any deaths have a significant impact on the day to day operations of the farm."
