The Farm Safety Partnership (FSP) has set a target to reduce the number of farming fatalities by at least 50% by the summer of 2023, in its latest initiative to transform the safety record in the farming industry.

The move came as more than 20 representatives from all areas of the industry gathered at NFU headquarters to discuss this year’s health and safety campaign.

The FSP will be focusing on four key areas over the next twelve months:

• Summer 2018: Children on farm

• Autumn 2018: Falls from a height and falling objects

• Winter 2018: Transport and machinery

• Spring 2019: Livestock

NFU vice president and FSP chairman Stuart Roberts said: “Our ultimate ambition is to reach a point where there are no deaths in the farming industry.

“Our target on the way to achieving this is to at least halve the number of deaths over the next five years. To do this the FSP has to up the ante. We must be bold and ambitious and push the farming industry to enact change quickly.

“With FSP organisations delivering a co-ordinated campaign and looking at specific actions each season, we can really focus our approach and save lives in our industry.”