The resulting ankle twist and small bone chip cost him three weeks off work and another three weeks of rehabilitating while only able to do limited work.
ACC cover was a help, but finding someone to do skilled work while he was injured was near impossible.
‘‘I think one of the reasons why I take a little more care is you can’t afford to be off nowadays and, in particular, if you are an owner-operator or on a one or two-man farm, that’s where it probably hits the business the most. Whereas a larger farm with multiple employees - you can spread the load a little more.’’
After jumping off a tractor in gumboots to do some irrigation work he landed on uneven ground and rolled his ankle.
‘‘It could’ve been avoided because I jumped down rather than just take it slowly and go down the steps, thinking I was still youthful. Having ankle boots would have helped as well and I won’t do that again because it bloody hurt.’’
Mr Birkett knows of farmers who have paid a higher price from fatal accidents or been left in wheelchairs.
WorkSafe has recorded eight work-related deaths in agriculture, forestry and fishing so far this year, including a fatal motorbike rollover in Canterbury on May 27.
Mr Birkett hosted a farm visit attended by ACC Associate Minister Nicola Grigg, local farmers, and teams from ACC and Safer Farms on July 3.
He puts his hand up as a former health and safety spokesman on the national board of Federated Farmers.
‘‘We are seeing some improvements so it was about showing what we do within agriculture around health and safety and some of the gains we’ve been able to make over the past few years.’’
Farmers are filing fewer ACC claims for work injuries - 16,666 farm-related claims last year from more than 25,000 in 2020.
Safer Farms ambassador Lindy Nelson said the encouraging drop was being led by farmers, growers, contractors and rural teams choosing safer ways of working.
‘‘Farmers deserve real credit for this progress. They are the ones making the calls day by day, slowing down when the weather changes, setting jobs up properly, talking things through with staff and family and finding practical fixes that work in the real world.’’
Rural people recognised there was still work to do and too many farming families knew someone who has been hurt or worse, she said.
The group’s Farm Without Harm campaign focuses on long hours, fatigue, isolation, pressure, vehicle safety, livestock handling and physical strain, and hidden exposure to chemicals, dust and other hazards building up over time.
Mrs Nelson said ACC investment was helping to get the safety message out and recommending practical steps such as fitting crush protection devices, GPS rollover alert systems and pen gates to separate people from livestock.
Safer farms were more productive, easier to staff, more resilient through tough times and helped make sure everyone got home safely, she said.
Mr Birkett said many farm fatalities were a result of quadbike incidents, often by experienced farmers in the 60-plus age group.
‘‘That is still our biggest area of focus and it’s disproportionate to the risk for quadbikes for some reason. They are not compulsory, but rollover protection is strongly recommended by WorkSafe.’’
Fatigue was a risk point on farms, especially during long hours of harvesting, lambing or calving.
Mr Birkett said technology was helping with auto-steer and GPS on tractors removing some of the tiring work, while tilt and speed sensors were contributing to safety on motorbikes.
