Olive grower’s near-miss a timely reminder during 2025 National Farm Safety Week
By Laura Thomas
A Victorian olive grove manager who survived an on-farm incident is urging all farmers to slow down and “don’t let complacency be your undoing”, this National Farm Safety Week.
Latest agriculture industry figures reveal 17 people have lost their lives on Australian farms so far this year and a further 87 have been seriously injured.
The 2025 Safer Farms Report was released earlier this week, providing “a sobering picture of on-farm harm over the past 18 months”, according to Farmsafe Australia.
It revealed 72 farm fatalities were recorded in 2024 – the highest number in more than 20 years, following a historic low of 32 in 2023.
“So many incidents are preceded by a ‘close call’. A moment when we got lucky,” Farmsafe Australia Chair Felicity Richards said in a media release this week.
“But unless we talk about what almost happened and what we did differently afterwards, we’re missing one of the most powerful tools we have to change behaviour.”
This could not be more true for Cameron Bennett, who is grove manager at Mediterranean Olives at Serpentine, a small town located 50km north of Bendigo, Victoria.
Six months ago he was involved in a side-by-side rollover following a 2am start to the working day, spraying fungicide.
As he rushed off to check a water pump later in the day, he lost control of his vehicle while turning a corner.
The “perfect storm” of loose gravel, uneven ground and an unstable load in the spray tank on the back caused the side-by-side to roll.
Mr Bennett hit his head and sustained a serious flesh wound to his leg as he instinctively attempted to steady the vehicle – but the outcome could have been far worse.
It also could have been avoided altogether if he’d just taken a little more time to the job, according to Mr Bennett.
“If I had slowed down and taken an extra 2 minutes to get to the pump shed it would have saved me a lot of time in down time including hospitalisation, clinic visits and the like,” he said.
“Also making sure that I get enough sleep and not making decisions on the fly and not thinking through the risks of the simplest of jobs.”
Mr Bennett said the incident has had a profound impact on his approach to farm safety and changed on-farm work procedures for all team members at the grove.
Among these is an “it can wait” approach to non-essential tasks – something Mr Bennett admits is difficult given his “thruster-organiser” way of doing things. Better fatigue management is also on the agenda.
“We have also decided as a group that we have at least one day off each week to recharge. It gives me the opportunity to get to the local footy, recharge my batteries, socialise and wind down before the next week starts. It doesn’t suit everybody but that’s how it is,” he said.
“We don’t do anything on the farm anymore unless we have someone else actively working on the farm at the same time.
“We all tend to work independently and 99% of the time we are generally okay. My 1% could have been much worse and if there was no-one to help me or my phone was inaccessible who knows what might have happened.
“Everything we do now is also buttressed by the understanding that ‘shit’ happens and we plan for the worst and hope for the best for every task, no matter how often we have done it.
“We also spend more time discussing tasks and the risks associated with them.”
Mr Bennett urged other producers to slow down, think about safety and prioritise rest and recovery.
“I think as an association we have a lot of members that are part time growers and as such need to remember to take their time and not rush things before returning to their normal Monday to Friday jobs,” he said.
“No matter what industry we are in it is important to remember to work safely, get to work safely and return home safely. For full time producers it is no different. Complacency is a killer.
“I suppose my message is simple and it is not just for olive producers: Fatigue management is important, as is risk assessment, don’t rush and don’t let complacency be your undoing.”
Australian Olive Association Chief Executive Officer Michael Southan said Mr Bennett’s story was a timely reminder for olive growers to keep safety front of mind – no matter what the task.
“Safety hazards exist within the olive grove, during harvest, processing and beyond – we can’t afford to become complacent,” he said.
“National Farm Safety Week is the perfect time to stop and evaluate on-farm safety procedures and have conversations with our workmates and friends about what we’re doing.
“The high pressure of harvest is behind us for another year – there’s no better time than now to stop, think and focus on safety.”
2025 National Farm Safety Week – 20-26 July
The 2025 National Farm Safety Week campaign, Second Chances – Who Knows How Many You’ll Get? is putting a spotlight on the near misses that happen every day on farms across the country this week.
Learn more about the campaign on the Farmsafe Australia website.
Sources:
www.farmsafe.org.au
Safer Farms 2025 Agricultural Injury and Fatality Trend Report