Making Our Farms Safer

Making our farm
Families safer Campaign

Have you read the Guidebook, watched our Youtube videos or tuned into the Podcast series?

Safe Farms, Safe Families.

KEEPING YOU SAFE ON FARM

The VFF Making Our Farms Safer project is a FREE farm safety education and support service for all Victorian farmers.

If you'd like to improve your farm safety knowledge and practices with support from our dedicated Farm Safety Advisors, submit your Expression of Interest via the Get in Touch button below

Get In Touch

The Making Our Farm Families Safer campaign podcast series is now LIVE

Listen to the Victorian Farmers Federation podcast Making Our Farm Families Safer series. A podcast discussing and driving social change for the safety of Victorian Farming Families

Listen Here

FARMING THROUGH THE WET SUMMER OF 22-23 PODCAST SERIES

Check out our four-part series featuring speakers from Birchip Cropping Group, Agriculture Victoria, Rural Aid and AgBiz Assist. Discussing and sharing key takeaways and pieces of information on issues affecting us on farm this Summer.

From Bog recovery, Mental health, Livestock and Financial support - We share vital info with you, at a time and location convenient to you.

Search for the Victorian Farmers Federation podcast on your favourite podcast app, or listen via the button below.

Listen Here

NEW SOP
VIDEOS

We have released a series of educational standard safe operating procedure (SOP) videos that aim to support farmers in correctly carrying out some of the most high-risk tasks leading to incidents on Victorian farms.

From working with Livestock in yards to loading a feed mixer wagon, the videos are designed to correctly display procedures and technologies available to help safeguard everyone on the farm.

You can view the videos series on the VFF Making Our Farms Safer YouTube channel.

Watch Here

PRIORITISING
SAFETY

Dairy farmer Don Bowers have a strong appreciation for farm safety, he proactively seeks to improve; holding the belief that if you run your business right, your staff, animals and farm will operate at their optimum, with safety being a huge contributing factor to this.

Mr Bowers says the invaluable information he received from Making Our Farms Safer Senior Farm Safety Advisor, John Darcy, has been incorporated to help improve the safety of those on the farm, which also did not come at a large time of financial expense to integrate.

Read Here

PREVENTING BULLYING IN FARM WORKPLACES

Senior Farm Safety Advisor, John Darcy, recently spoke with National Centre for Farmer Health on preventing bullying in farm workplaces.

Listen Here

SAFETY
VIDEO

Undertaking a regular inspection process ensures that little things such as checking the first aid kit do not fall by the wayside and that critical hazards including guards and chemical storages are inspected routinely.

When we meet with farmers we provide them with a large variety of resources including templates and a detailed housekeeping inspection checklist.

Find out more by watching the video.

Watch Here

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Making Our Farm Families Safer Campaign

Join us on our mission to support Australian Farming parents, grandparents and caregivers making farms safer for children performing work related tasks.

Grandparent says farm safety is a ‘journey, not a destination’

Archies Creek farmer Ric Oldham says there is absolutely no way he would let his grandchildren do some of the things he used to do when he was a kid growing up on a farm.

Farm safety improves as every generation comes in

Ian and Marilyn Hitchings say they are pleased the successor of their farm is more proactive about safety than they were when they were running the farm.

Model the right behaviour to ensure younger generations stay safe on farm

Marie Trigg isn’t the sort of person to think ‘that won’t happen to me’, so she goes above and beyond to make sure her family and others visiting her farm are safe at all times.

Giving kids responsibilities with boundaries to make them passionate about industry

Lee-Ann Thompson admits she often sounds like a “broken record” when it comes to her kids’ safety on their Manangatang farm, but it’s something she says she’s not willing to be complacent about.

Growing our future farmers comes with its risks

Tourello farmers Steve and Ruth Kinnersly believe the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted how lucky their children are to live on a property with so much space and freedom, but they are aware this luxury comes with associated risks.

Parents of four ‘forever vigilant’ on Larpent dairy farm

When Thomas Billing was a baby, his dairy farmer parents Mark and Sam set up a playpen in the calf shed so they could work while their baby was nearby but safely out the way.

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Supporting Farmers’ Safety and Wellbeing

Need a hand with safety on your farm?

The Victorian Farmers Federation Making Our Farms Safer project is a FREE service available to ALL farmers in Victoria. If you would like to improve your farm safety knowledge and practices with support from our dedicated Farm Safety Advisors, get in touch today!

Case Studies and Testimonials

It is important to share with you stories of farmers and farming businesses that we have assisted since the Making Our Farms Safer project launched in 2020.

Click on the images below to read case studies on how our project has supported farmers managing safety on their farms.

CHATSWORTH
HOUSE PASTORAL

DJ & LJ Bowers

Sharing direct feedback from farmers we have worked with is important.

This feedback helps us improve our service delivery, while also creating space for you to consider how our project services could benefit your farming operation.

Below, you can scroll through some of the testimonials we have received following a farm safety consult/visit.

"Well exceeded my expectations, very worth while. Access to this program has made a real positive difference to,our business, it has been a positive catalyst for improving our farm safety. I don’t think we would have been able or willing to make the improvements to farm safety without VFF and MOFS project. THANKS"

"Very good service, especially because it was one on one."

"This is a great initiative and resource. Farm safety would certainly get more traction if the experience is more constructive like this. We came away very positive about making changes."

"The Farm Safety Advisor has been extremely helpful and thorough and we will be making big changes to our system following his advice."

"it was very practical and has helped me understand what I need to do and what I should do to ensure we have paper trail showing that employees are competent at doing tasks.."

"The Farm Safety Advisor was so helpful"

"Had a farm visit just over a week ago..Farm Safety Advisor was great to deal with. We discussed our existing policy (bit sad) and he gave us great ideas, resources and system to make it work. Recommend other members using this great free resource whether you are starting your policy or needing a refresher."

"It was very practical and has helped me understand what I need to do and what I should do, to ensure we have paper trail showing that employees are competent at doing tasks".

"Yesterday we had a farm safety audit. Downloaded relevant OHS policy and procedure templates. All Free. No Fault. Govt funded through VFF. It's there to use"

" The Farm Safety Advisor was brilliant when he visited. Am happy to ring him if I need".

"It was good to have someone come as there have been changes on our farm and we have had to make changes with it".

"The Farm Safety Advisor’s passion for helping people shone throughout our farm safety consult. We valued his extensive knowledge and followed up on a recommendation to upskill our staff by enrolling them in the crane/telehandler course prior to allowing them to operate a newly purchased telehandler. Have already recommended the project services to our farming friends."

"The Farm Safety Advisor was very helpful and I felt he wasn’t at all judging. We had a few issues and it’s obvious we can’t do it all at once so his advice was to break it down into small bits and start somewhere instead of the big stick approach."

"It was a great service (but as we do not have employees there were some areas that didn't apply to us at this time). However, it is good to know the service is there and who to contact in the future if we have any concerns."

"We knew we weren’t up to scratch and was helpful having a different set of eyes. The Farm Safety Advisor also made the task of getting our farm up to scratch achievable by taking little bits at a time approach."

"By far one of the best and most important/valuable service provided by VFF."

"The Farm Safety Advisor was practical, knowledgeable and understanding. A great program that has helped us gained better insight into what is a complex aspect of our business."

"This was a really worthwhile exercise. We now have some tasks to address but able to target the right areas.Thanks to The Farm Safety Advisor”

"Fantastic session - very valuable with excellent resources”

"Assisted us greatly in improving processes and procedures already in place. The guidance to our staff was invaluable. Thanks for providing such a great service with an extremely knowledgeable auditor.”

Farm Safety Tools

We’ve pulled together a collection of useful guides on how best to stay safe on the farm while getting the job done. Take five to check them out.

Making Our Farm Families Safer Campaign

Grandparent says farm safety is a ‘journey, not a destination’

Farm safety improves as every generation comes in

Model the right behaviour to ensure younger generations stay safe on farm

Giving kids responsibilities with boundaries to make them passionate about industry

Growing our future farmers comes with its risks

Parents of four ‘forever vigilant’ on Larpent dairy farm

Sign up to our monthly newsletter

Supporting Farmers’ Safety and Wellbeing

Case Studies and Testimonials

CHATSWORTH
HOUSE PASTORAL

DJ & LJ Bowers

Farm Safety Tools

Machinery

Chemical

General OHS

Mental Health

Animal

Children

COVID-19

How can we help?

Let us know if there are ways in which you think we can help you to make your farm safer. Fill out the form below and we’ll get in touch.

Follow Making Our Farms Safer:

Making Our Farm Families Safer Campaign

Sign up to our monthly newsletter

Supporting Farmers’ Safety and Wellbeing

Case Studies and Testimonials

CHATSWORTH HOUSE PASTORAL

DJ & LJ Bowers

Farm Safety Tools

How can we help?

Let us know if there are ways in which you think we can help you to make your farm safer. Fill out the form below and we’ll get in touch.

CHATSWORTH
HOUSE PASTORAL