What the figures show
- Older workers. Over-65s accounted for half of all worker deaths in 2025/26.
- Children. Nine children have died on Britain's farms over the last five years, 6% of all work-related deaths in the sector.
- Vehicles. Moving or overturning vehicles killed eight people in 2025/26. The other main causes are falling objects, falls from height, animals and machinery.
- Rate. Per 100,000 workers, the fatal injury rate is five times higher than construction and 21 times higher than the average across all industries.
- Trend. Over the last five years the sector has averaged 28 work-related deaths a year.
The 2025/26 figures are provisional, so HSE may revise them.
What HSE is asking farmers to do
HSE's inspector for agriculture, Wayne Owen, said the deaths are "not inevitable accidents" and that many come from risks that can be controlled. On children, HSE's message is plain: young children should not be in the farm workplace. They should be somewhere safe and fenced off, such as the farmhouse garden.
What it means on a smallholding
A smallholding is a workplace too, and the same risks apply: a compact tractor on a slope, a quad on a bank, a PTO shaft, a log splitter. Our guides on children and farm machinery, quad bike safety and machinery safety on a smallholding set out what HSE says for each.
HSE's own starting points are What a good farm looks like and its free guide Farmwise, which is also available in Welsh.