Compared to other main industry groups agriculture has the highest rate of fatal injuries (9.7 per 100 000 workers in 2007/08p), and one of the highest rates of major injuries (231.8 per 100 000 employees in 2007/08p).
The rate of reported major and over-3-day injury has fallen in recent years, although because of changes in industry recording it is currently unclear whether this trend has extended to 2007/08.
Relative to other industries, a higher proportion of reported injuries in agriculture were caused by animals, moving machinery, falling objects, falls from height and moving vehicles.
THOR-GP surveillance scheme data, 2006-2007, indicates a higher incidence rate of work-related illness in agriculture compared with all industries. However, the prevalence rate of self-reported work-related ill health in 2007/08, is of the same order in agriculture as all industries.
Self-reported and THOR surveillance scheme data indicates the rate of work-related musculoskeletal disorders was higher in agriculture than across all industries, in the most recent data. Surveillance scheme data also suggest the rate of work-related asthma was higher in agriculture than other industries.
