Farming

Farming - Public safety

Public safety

There are a number of areas where farming activities pose a risk to health and safety. Whether you are an employer, an employee, a contractor or a visitor it is important to be aware of where the risks are and how best to minimise these risks.

Some of the more common areas where risks to public health and safety might arise are:

  • rights of way
  • livestock
  • open farms
  • public highways
  • spray drift

Carrying out a risk assessment of these activities can help minimise the risk. Advice on how this can be done is included in Health and Safety Executive (HSE) leaflet Health and safety policies and risk assessment in agriculture.

Guidance and a checklist for farmers and visitors to farms are contained in the booklet Safety on farms: A shared responsibility.

Rights of way

As an occupier of land, you must minimise any risks to people on your land whether they have been invited onto it or not.

If you know there is a danger, reasonable care must be taken to make sure people do not suffer injury. It may be possible to discharge this duty of care by warning people of a danger with a notice, although this might not always be enough.

Natural England has produced a free leaflet, Guide to managing Public Access land, for farmers and land managers. However, it is not a definitive interpretation of the law and farmers may need to take legal advice as necessary.

There is a reduced level of liability whenever Countryside and Rights of Way (CROW) Act access rights are in force. The Countryside Agency provides a guide to public liability on open access land, although legal advice may be required for individual circumstances..

Livestock

If an animal injures somebody or causes damage, you may be liable under the Animals Act 1971. The Countryside Agency has a produced a summary of the owners liability under the Animals Act 1971.

There are a number of precautions that can be taken:

  • consider temporarily fencing rights of way so that cattle cannot access them
  • dairy breed bulls must not be kept in fields with footpaths
  • beef stock bulls kept in such fields must be accompanied by female stock
  • consider carefully whether animals should be kept in fields with public access - this could include an assessment of animal temperament, the type of public access, and the sort of people likely to use the field in question

Further guidance is available in the Health and Safety Executive leaflet Keeping cattle in fields with public access.

Open Farms

If you open up your farm to the general public, including for charity events, you have certain duties under health and safety law.

Control of Substances Hazardous to Heath (COSHH) Regulations require farmers to minimise the risk to the public from hazardous substances.

Micro-organisms, for example the potentially harmful E Coli 0157, can be passed from animals to humans and controls should be put in place to minimise the risk of visitors becoming infected.

The Health & Safety Executive information sheet Avoiding ill health at open farms provides guidance on best practice and how to meet the COSSH regulations.

Further information about general safety on open farms is available in the Farmwise: Essential guide to health and safety in agriculture.

Public highways

Farmers have a duty not to obstruct the public highway or do anything that could inconvenience or endanger the public. Care should be taken not to leave dung, compost, rubbish or mud on a made-up carriageway.

Appropriate reflective road signs must be used where circumstances require, although you should note that  the use of signs does not necessarily prevent liability from prosecution.

Hedges, trees or shrubs must not overhang a public highway and cuttings should be removed as soon as possible.

During watering or burning operations, spray or smoke must not be allowed to get close to public highways.

Good road drainage reduces the risk of vehicles skidding and it is the legal responsibility of the occupier of adjacent fields to maintain roadside ditches.

Further information is available in the document Farming operations and the public highway.

Spray drift

Spraying pesticides is a highly visible operation and a sensitive approach will benefit farmers and bystanders alike.

Anyone using a pesticide has a legal responsibility to ensure that all reasonable precautions are taken to protect human health.

The Pesticides Safety Directorate advises careful compliance with the Code of Practice for using plant protection products to reduce the risk of public exposure. Section 4.7 tells you all about spray drift and how to avoid it.

A Control of Substances Hazardous to Heath (COSHH) assessment should take account of the way in which spray drift could affect the public.

In addition, it is good practice and in some cases compulsory to notify people around you before spraying.

Further information on reducing spray drift can be obtained from the Pesticides Safety Directorate.

See also

Contacts

  • Defra Helpline – 08459 33 55 77

Page last modified: 20 May 2008
Page published: 1 July 2006

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs