A FARMER has become the first workplace fatality for 2026 after being entangled in a tractor wheel, prompting renewed calls for farmers to stay vigilant around machinery.
The death comes amidst new data which revealed tractors have been the leading cause of both farming fatalities and injuries since 2020.
It’s believed the 69-year-old man had exited the tractor to clear jammed hay from a baler trailer when the vehicle rolled forward.
WorkSafe Victoria said the man was then stuck under the machine and dragged at a Kingston property south east of Melbourne.
According to AgHealth Australia’s Rural Media Farm Injury Dashboard, there have been 13 fatalities and 12 injuries involving tractors since 2020, with four fatalities last year alone.
The vast majority of deaths and injuries have involved the operator of the tractor, although a number of bystanders have also been killed or hurt.
Victorian Farmer’s Federation president Brett Hosking said the latest tragedy should be a reminder to all farmers to look after themselves and their machinery.
“We are still an overrepresented industry when it comes to workplace fatalities, and we need to do an enormous amount more work from a machinery safety point of view and a cultural safety point of view,” he said.
According to WorkSafe Victoria, agriculture makes up just two per cent of the state’s workforce, but accounts for 14 per cent of workplace deaths.
Victoria itself is also overrepresented in farming fatality statistics.
Last year there were 15 farming fatalities across Victoria, accounting for around 30 per cent of all farm related deaths nationally, according to the AgHealth dashboard.
The 2025 death toll was down on the year previous with 18 deaths in 2024, but both remain well above the five-year average.
Mr Hosking, who farms in Quambatook, reminded farmers that free safety consultations and site reviews are able to be made through the VFF’s Making Our Farms Safer program.
“It can be really useful to have a fresh set of eyes to look over the farm, and could pick up something farmers may not have noticed or forgotten about,” he said.
“Technology changes, machines operate in dust – extreme heat and extreme cold – and don’t always operate as they used to.
“You need to keep in mind they have the potential to fail, and caution always needs to be applied.”
