Countryfile’s Adam Henson has highlighted a worrying issue facing Britain’s farming industry after a set of figures left him deeply concerned
Adam Henson(Image: BBC)
BBC Countryfile presenter Adam Henson has highlighted a serious concern facing the farming industry after new figures revealed a sharp rise in the number of people dying at work.
The farmer, who runs Cotswold Farm Park, said the statistics had prompted him to think carefully about the risks faced by those working on farms and whether more could be done to prevent fatal accidents.
Writing in BBC Countryfile Magazine, Adam said: “There’s so much bad news around that it’s easy to be numbed by the torrent of negative stories in the media. But occasionally something hits the headlines that stops me in my tracks – and that’s what happened when the latest figures for deaths in the workplace were released.”
Figures showed 33 people died while working in agriculture during the 2025/26 financial year, compared with 23 the previous year and 27 in 2023/24.
Adam pointed out the disproportionate number of deaths in the sector, noting that agriculture employs only around 1% of the British workforce but accounts for approximately one in five workplace fatalities.
The figures also prompted him to reflect on safety procedures at his own farm, where both employees and contractors carry out a wide variety of work.
He explained that risk assessments and training were already part of everyday operations, but said the figures were a reminder that it was worth looking again at how hazards were identified and managed.
Adam stressed that there was no single reason behind the number of deaths and that every incident had its own circumstances. However, he highlighted the nature of agricultural work as one possible factor.
Long days, physically demanding jobs and working alone can all create additional risks, particularly when there is nobody nearby to spot a problem or intervene.
“If there are no colleagues around and no chance of a second opinion (or a crucial second pair of eyes), it’s easy to imagine how something potentially dangerous could go unnoticed,” he wrote.
Farming also involves a huge variety of potentially hazardous tasks, with workers dealing with livestock, machinery, chemicals and other equipment.
Adam said the rural setting could sometimes make it easy to forget that a farm is still a workplace, and compared it with more conventional working environments such as factories and workshops.
He also recalled Apaches, the notorious public information film from the 1970s which highlighted the dangers children could face on farms. Adam described the film as “terrifying to watch”.
Research by the Farm Safety Foundation found that 88% of farmers surveyed believed complacency, including overconfidence and a false sense of security, was a major contributor to accidents on farms.
Several initiatives are attempting to improve safety, including the Foundation’s Yellow Wellies campaign, which provides advice and training. Meanwhile, charity RABI has developed FarmersAid, a free app intended to support people who are alone after a serious accident while they wait for emergency assistance.
Adam’s comments come after he recently raised another concern affecting the farming industry during a Q&A with fellow farmer Olly Harrison at Cotswold Farm Park.
Asked what they wanted from the Government, Harrison argued that farming needed to receive greater attention.
Adam subsequently discussed food fraud, saying he had been told by someone at the Food Standards Agency that the problem was worth £9 billion in the UK.
He said: “I was with someone from the Food Standards Agency and food fraud in the UK has a value of nine billion pounds. So stuff that is on a glass or a packet or says it’s something that it’s actually not.”
He went on to claim: “Huge amount of food coming into the country that is, you know, meats that is unlabelled or out of date or not fit for human consumption. Honey, olive oil and dairy products are the three biggest fraudulent foods.”
But it was the farm safety figures that left Adam with a simple hope for the future.
“Like everyone, I’m hoping and praying for zero avoidable deaths on our farms in the future.”
