AgriFutures - AGenda newsletter

Welcome to AgriFutures AGenda

We often hear the expression 'safety comes first' but how can we ensure it always does? New farm safety data has revealed that incidents of on-farm deaths in Australia have fallen however there is still work to be done on building a stronger safety culture and as our Managing Director, John Harvey points out in the story below, we can not become complacent.

In this month's AGenda we highlight some of the recent research from our industries which puts a focus on safety. From jockey safety to the safety of tea tree oil in personal care products, this important topic is front of mind for many of the industries we represent.

Today we also pay a special tribute to International Women's Day. Make sure you follow the conversations across our social media challenges as we ask our valued stakeholders: What does the 2022 theme 'Break The Bias' mean to you?

Statistics aren't just numbers

The latest farm safety data has revealed on-farm deaths in Australia have decreased by 20 per cent in 2021 compared to 2020. But this doesn't mean it is time for us to get complacent.

Our Managing Director, John Harvey insists if we are going to see further improvements in farm safety data, we all need to keep talking about it.

Read more ...

Safety doesn’t have to be boring and uninspiring

"One of the biggest flaws associated with the health and safety narrative is that it’s inherently boring, in-human and fuelled by technical jargon."

We recently sat down with the 2018 SA AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award Winner, Alex Thomas, to chat about all things safety, beyond the red tape.

Find out how Alex plans to expand her #PlantASeedForSafety program across the nation.

Read more ...

Tractors the leading cause of harm

New data from AgHealth Australia highlights tractors are now the leading cause of death on farms, eclipsing quad bikes and side-by-side vehicles.

The statistics serve as an important mechanism for industry to highlight areas where we are making a positive impact, as well as those areas we need to concentrate effort to reach the zero-death target. We are certainly going in the right direction, but we can’t lose sight of the bigger picture.

Read more ...

Season III of AgriFutures On Air kicks off

Does where you live have an impact on whether you "trust" our rural industries? Why is it so important that Australian consumers trust rural industries? The Community Trust in Rural Industries Program is an analysis of the full spectrum of underlying values driving community attitudes and trust towards food and fibre production. In this first podcast episode of Season III, we showcase some of the findings from this fascinating body of work and how they have been applied to the Australian egg industry.

Listen now ...

Agronomeye: The 360 bird's eye view to help farmers turbocharge their businesses

“There’s already a huge amount of data available to farmers but the missing piece of the puzzle is the ability to integrate different datasets and visualise this at the farm level. Once the Digital Foundation has been laid, it’s a matter of just hooking up the rest of the farmer’s data and technology to make the AgTwin come to life.” - Stu Adam, Agronomeye, Co-Founder and CEO.

Read more ...

Study confirms Aussie tea tree oil is a safe ingredient for personal care products

“Products containing Australian tea tree oil and lavender oil are some of the safest options we have available and not using them means using alternative products. Alternative products may not be as safe as using these oils. Consequently, we anticipate our study will restore consumer confidence in the use of Australian tea tree and lavender oil products.” - Dr Jessie Hawkins, Franklin Health Research Centre, Executive Director.

Read more ...