21 February 2025

Cultivating safety: sowing the seeds of safer farming

How do farming experience and social influences shape safety awareness among young farmers? This research explores the behavioural drivers of farm injury risk perception.

Credit: SolStock/istockphoto.com

Although farm safety is governed by legislation, it is strongly influenced by individual behaviours. These behaviours are shaped by personal experience and the social context within which farming practices are shared.

A key factor for farm safety is increasing Farm Injury Risk Perception (FIRP). Farmers are more likely to avoid risks when they perceive a higher chance of injury associated with a given practice, situation or behaviour.

FIRP and risk tolerance are strongly shaped by individuals’ experience and social influences, explains Mohammad Mohammadrezaei, a Research Officer at Teagasc Ashtown.

“These influences include the attitudes of family, friends and peers, and the expected behaviours within this context. This is especially the case in countries predominantly with family farm systems, such as Ireland. Within these systems, young adults are one of the groups most vulnerable to farm injury. These workers are highly influenced by their parents, friends and other farmers in decision-making related to at-risk behaviours on the farm.”

To improve farm safety amongst young farmers, it is necessary to develop a better understanding of current levels of risk perception and assess the impact of experience and social influences. 

Splitting the difference

This study surveyed 417 agricultural science students in Ireland, evenly split between first- and second-year undergraduates (53% female, 47% male). The research was conducted before the students completed a health and safety module, ensuring their responses reflected prior experiences rather than course influences. The median age of participants was 19.

A significant portion of students had direct exposure to farm-related risks. One in four reported experiencing a near-miss or close call in the previous year. Additionally, almost 14% of respondents had suffered a farm-related injury severe enough to disrupt their education or work for more than one day.

When asked about their key social influences, students most frequently cited farmers, family and friends as the most impactful figures shaping their farm safety perceptions.

Interestingly, nearly half of the participants (45%) were classified as “risk optimistic”, meaning they underestimated the likelihood of injury or harm, while 41% were “risk averse”, perceiving a higher chance of injury. The remaining 14% fell into a neutral category. Factors such as age, gender, stage of education, and farming experience showed no significant impact on whether students were risk optimistic or risk averse. This finding raises an important question: what drives differences in FIRP among students with otherwise similar characteristics?

The source of risk perception

The study identified two key factors influencing risk perception of young farmers: experience or knowledge of a serious injury, and social influences.

Students with experience of a farm work-related injury, having a near miss or close call, or knowledge of a farm-related death or injury reported significantly greater FIRP and were more likely to be “risk averse”.

Notably, 34.5% of participants had a personal connection to someone who died while 56.4% knew someone who was moderately or severely injured as a consequence of a farm-related incident. This is indicative of a relatively high level of farm work-related incidents among family farms.

Study participants identified farmers (38.6%), family and friends (33.6%), and support organisations (13.7%) as their main social influences in relation to FIRP. There was a statistically significant association between respondents who reported family and friends or farmers as key social influences and the level of FIRP.

The research found that students who are influenced by their family and friends or farmers are more likely to underestimate FIRP and are consequently “risk optimistic”.

This finding fits with a growing body of literature that highlights how young farmers gain credibility as “authentic farmers” by modelling their behaviours on older or more experienced farmers. The latter finding highlights the importance of taking a systematic approach to increasing FIRP.

Whilst it is crucial to provide students with education and training in relation to hazard identification and risk management, it is as important that education and training initiatives are targeted at farmers and farm families, highlighting their influence on younger farmers, Mohammad notes.

“The findings around direct experience of injuries and fatalities underline the importance of knowledge sharing and peer learning. Those with direct experience of such situations can better encourage and engage with young farmers to share and reflect around their perceptions of potential at-risk behaviours and their implications.”

A considered approach

Taking this approach needs to be very carefully considered; there is a need for the development of guidance for educators and trainers that take into consideration the associated ethical issues, Mohammad adds.

“Related to developing further learning and guidance materials, there is potential to use existing resources. Such resources notably include testimony from farmers who speak about injuries they have experienced and the impact these have had on them, their families and their business.”

A number of these accounts have been filmed and are available in the HSA ‘Survivor Stories’ series. These accounts provide a valuable resource to the sector to promote farm safety, assuming use of such resources is approached with suitable sensitivity. 

“Despite the potential challenges associated with peer learning on the topic of farm safety, this research highlights the need for educational tools focusing on real-life experiences and showing the real consequences of risky actions, rather than just pointing out dangers,” Mohammad concludes.

“By using practical examples and positive social influences from trusted individuals, we can challenge harmful farming traditions and shift the mindset in farming communities. This can help create a safety-first culture where avoiding risks is seen as a key part of farming culture.”  

Acknowledgements 

This work is funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine’s BeSafe Grant (Grant number 17S269). The authors would like to acknowledge the students who participated in this study and Jim Kinsella of UCD, co-author of the paper on which this article is based.

Contributors

Mohammad Mohammadrezaei, Research Officer, Rural Economy and Development, Teagasc Ashtown. mohammad.mohammadrezaei@teagasc.ie 

David Meredith, Senior Research Officer, Rural Economy and Development, Teagasc Ashtown.

John McNamara, Senior Health and Safety Specialist, Teagasc Kildalton College.

Sinéad Flannery, Assistant Professor, School of Agriculture and Food Science, University College Dublin.

To dive deeper into the findings and insights from this research on farm safety and risk perception, read more here: Frontiers in Public Health article. Additionally, explore the BeSafe Project for further initiatives on promoting farm safety.