Victorian farmer advocacy groups are banding together to show the importance of workplace safety during National Farmer Safety Week.
The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) has launched a campaign and released a guidance book for farmers to help families keep children and workers on their property safe.
VFF president Emma Germano said they released the guidebook to let farmers know the importance of safety.
"The Australian agriculture industry sadly represents the highest proportion of accidents causing death in any workplace, with children tragically making up one quarter of these numbers," Ms Germano said.
"We need to do all we can as an industry to ensure no one has to endure the heartbreak, pain, loss and emptiness that losing a child to a preventable on-farm accident results in."
WorkSafe Victoria has also highlighted the importance of safety this week, releasing an online video explaining safety inspectors' role in preventing on-farm accidents.
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Trish Hammond, Labertouche, has been dairy farming for 12 years across her two properties.
She said her regular safety inspection with WorkSafe's Michael Vanderzalm has been positive, and their main objective was not to shut farms down but help the farmers "make things the safest we can".
"With the inspection, there were things that came out of that that we needed to make improvements on, and Michael returned four weeks later to check we'd put all those things in place and to give further advice," she said.
Mr Vanderzalm said inspectors were "realists" and understood how farmers work.
"We're here to help you operate your business safely," he said.
WorkSafe executive director of health and safety Narelle Beer said there needed to be a shift in thinking that injuries would not happen on-farm if they have been experienced.
"A workplace tragedy can happen to anyone who doesn't prioritise safety, regardless of how well they know their land and machinery," Dr Beer said.
In March 2021, a coronial inquiry investigating the death of a 12-year-old boy on a farming property in Leitchville found that from 2016 to 2021, seven Victorian children died using farm machinery.
An earlier coronial inquiry handed down in February 2021 regarding the death of a two-year-old boy on a Naringal farm also recommended WorkSafe and the VFF conduct public awareness campaigns.
WorkSafe will be hosting an online information session on Wednesday, 27 July, before visiting farms in the Cobden region in the coming months to talk about safety in person.
On average, 14 per cent of workplace fatalities occur in the Victorian agriculture industry while representing only two per cent of the state's workforce.
Seven incidents have resulted in deaths in the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry in 2022 so far.
