'Time to go beyond just talking about mental health'
Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford says while people are opening about mental health, there’s still disproportionately high rates of suicide and depression in rural communities.
A Gore farm machinery company’s shoddy repairs to a tractor have landed it with a fine of $239,063 and reparations of $103,459 awarded to an injured farm worker.
“Vehicle service industries must ensure diligent workmanship, systems and practices in the work they do to prevent injuries to users,” says WorkSafe head of specialist interventions, Simon Humphries.
His comments arise from the recent sentencing in the Gore District Court of farm machinery business Agricentre South Ltd for its ineffective repairs to the brakes on a tractor it supplied: the brakes failed and the machine ran over a worker.
Michele Bastiaansen suffered leg wounds and fractures to her neck vertebrae, humorous and wrist when she fell from a trailer being towed by a tractor driven by her husband Francis.
The company in 2015 bought (as a trade-in) a 2002 New Holland tractor, determined that the brakes were not working properly, and so replaced the brake master cylinders, expecting this work to rectify the problem. But it did not determine why the parts had failed.
During a pre-purchase trial in early April 2016, the Bastiaansens were using the tractor and a trailer to transport timber to a shed with Mrs Bastiaansen aboard the trailer.
While driving up a 25-degree slope, Francis Bastiaansen applied the brakes but they did not stop the tractor. The combination rolled backwards down the incline, jack-knifed and the trailer detached from the tractor. Mrs Bastiaansen was thrown from the trailer into the roadway where the tractor rolled over her.
WorkSafe found that Agricentre South did not tell its staff about the tractor’s repair history, did not ensure the tractor had working brakes and did not get the warning lights reconnected and working after the repair job.
“The vehicle servicing industry, including companies servicing farm machinery, needs exceptional diligence to ensure the safety of the users of vehicles and plant,” Humphries said.
Fonterra shareholders are concerned with a further decline in the co-op’s share of milk collected in New Zealand.
A governance group has been formed, following extensive sector consultation, to implement the recommendations from the Industry Working Group's (IWG) final report and is said to be forming a 'road map' for improving New Zealand's animal genetic gain system.
Free workshops focused on managing risk in sharefarming got underway last week.
Annual farmer gathering, the South Island Dairy Event (SIDE), is set to make history as it heads to Timaru for the first time.
Installing 400 solar panels at their Taranaki piggery and cropping operation will have significant environmental, financial and animal welfare benefits for the Stanley family.
WoolWorks, New Zealand’s largest wool-scouring company, has partnered with the Lions Club of Riverton to help raise money for much-needed repairs to the Southland town’s swimming pool.
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