On 21 October the NFU urged members to book onto FarmersAid’s new pilot First Farmer on Scene courses. The free, three-hour, hands-on sessions are supported by RABI and delivered by The MAAC Academy, the training arm made possible by the Midlands Air Ambulance Charity. Dates are available at the charity’s Shropshire airbase, with further sessions in Powys, North Yorkshire, Cornwall, Cumbria and Devon between November and January.
The course is about one thing: what happens in the first few minutes after someone is seriously hurt on a farm, before professional help arrives. As NFU Vice-President Robyn Munt put it, “The first few minutes after a serious accident on farm are the most critical.”
It is not the only initiative. In Wales, the Wales Farm Safety Partnership and the Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service (EMRTS) launched free Tractors and Trauma workshops in October, after reporting that emergency medical teams attend around 90 farming-related incidents in Wales every year.
Why the first minutes matter on farms
Agriculture continues to have the highest rate of fatal injury of any major industry in Britain. HSE’s provisional figures for 2025/26 record 29 deaths in agriculture, forestry and fishing — 22 workers and seven members of the public, three of them children. Moving or overturning vehicles alone accounted for eight deaths, and people over 65 made up half of all worker fatalities. HSE puts the sector’s fatal injury rate at around 21 times the all-industry average.
Those figures describe fatalities, not every injury, and they do not show how many outcomes would have changed with faster first aid. What is clear is the setting: many farm people work alone, often in remote fields, and ambulance crews may face long journeys to reach them. That makes preparation on the farm itself unusually important.
Seven checks before you need help
1. Assess your first aid needs for the whole operation
HSE says employers must make sure employees get immediate help if they are taken ill or injured at work, and that the law applies to every workplace and to the self-employed. At a minimum that means a suitably stocked first aid kit, an appointed person to take charge of first aid arrangements, and information for everyone about what those arrangements are. On a farm, the assessment should cover the yard, outlying fields, machinery, livestock handling and the vehicles people drive between sites — not just the farm office.
2. Put trained people where the work happens
A first aider in the farmhouse is little help to a contractor working alone three miles away. Look at who is usually on site, at which times and where, and aim for training to match. Courses such as First Farmer on Scene and Tractors and Trauma are built around farm scenarios; the remaining Welsh workshops are listed for Builth Wells on 3 November and Carmarthen on 17 November. Check eligibility and booking details with the organisers, as funded places have criteria and spaces are limited.
3. Make every location easy to describe
In an emergency, the person calling 999 may be shocked, and a farm postcode can cover a wide area. Agree a simple way to describe each yard entrance, field and building, keep written directions from the nearest named road beside the phone, and share a marked map with family and regular staff. Decide in advance who will go to the road end or gateway to meet the ambulance and guide crews in.
4. Stock kits for vehicles and cabs, not just the office
HSE says kit contents should be based on your needs assessment, and suggests looking for British Standard BS 8599 when buying, although the law does not require that standard. Check kits regularly: many sterile items carry expiry dates and should be replaced when they lapse. For tractors, pickups and vans, make sure the kit is stowed where it will not slide around under braking, stays clean and dry, and can be reached quickly by someone who is not the regular driver.
5. Close the gaps for lone workers
Someone has to know that something has gone wrong before help can be called. Agree check-in times for anyone working alone, especially on long or late jobs now that evenings are darker, and know where mobile signal is weak. A simple routine — a call or message at agreed times, with a clear plan if it does not arrive — costs nothing and can shorten the time before anyone raises the alarm.
6. Make the scene safe before you help
Farm incidents often involve machinery, vehicles or livestock that are still a hazard. The Safe Stop routine — handbrake on, controls in neutral, engine off and key out — is a good habit for everyone, and it matters even more when someone rushes to help. Brief staff and family that their own safety comes first: a second casualty makes the situation worse. Training courses cover scene management for exactly this reason.
7. Review, record and report afterwards
After any incident or near miss, restock the kit, talk through what worked and what did not, and update the plan. Some work-related injuries and dangerous occurrences must be reported to HSE under RIDDOR; check the current requirements on the HSE website if an incident happens. Recording near misses is not a legal formality — it is often the best early warning a business gets.
Fit matters as much as the kit
Cab set-up plays a quiet part in emergency readiness. A first aid kit or fire extinguisher is only useful if it is secure and easy to reach, and anything fitted around the seats should never get in the way of seat belts, buckles, seat adjustment or seat-mounted safety equipment. Farm Packs supplies tailored seat covers and cab kits for farm and fleet vehicles; if you are reviewing cab equipment as part of your emergency plan, check the exact make, model and seat layout before ordering, and follow the vehicle manufacturer’s guidance on anything fitted around the seats.
The practical takeaway
Nobody plans for a serious accident, but every farm can plan for the first few minutes after one. Assess your needs, train people where the work happens, make your locations easy to find, keep kits stocked in vehicles as well as buildings, and agree how lone workers stay in touch. The free courses running this winter are a timely prompt to put those basics in place.
Sources
- NFU — NFU urges members to attend ‘life-saving’ farm safety training, published 21 October 2026.
- Midlands Air Ambulance Charity — First Farmer on Scene, course page checked 27 October 2026.
- FarmingUK — 90 farm emergencies a year spark life-saving training drive in Wales, published 8 October 2026.
- HSE Media Centre — HSE backs Farm Safety Week amid concern for children and older workers on Britain’s farms (provisional 2025/26 figures), checked 27 October 2026.
- HSE — First aid in work: overview and What to put in a first aid kit, checked 27 October 2026.
- HSE — Agriculture: health and safety, checked 27 October 2026.
- HSE — RIDDOR: Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations, checked 27 October 2026.
This article is general guidance for farm and fleet operators and is not legal or medical advice. Always follow current HSE guidance, your own risk assessments and the instructions of the emergency services.
