Reports last week that Northland farmers are resisting calls to wear helmets when riding quad bikes on farms has caused concern with agencies such as ACC and Brain Injury Association Northland.

The reality of quad bikes on farms is there is no specific law covering helmets, training, rider age, passengers and towing/carrying limits on quad bikes. However, farmers and their employees need to be aware that when quad bikes are being used for work purposes – as they are on farms - they are covered by the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992. This Act requires employers to take “all practicable steps” to prevent employees and others from being harmed in their workplace.

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When I saw the article on page 10 of Fonterra’s September 2011 issue of the FarmLink magazine, it reminded me that in my blog post of 18 January 2011 I had said that owners of pre-1990 forest land (essentially made up of predominantly exotic forest species as at 31 December 2007 and planted before 1990) have until 30 September this year to apply for an exemption from the NZ Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) or until 30 November this year to apply for units to be issued under the ETS.

There are only 7 business days until 30 September so an application for an exemption would need to be dealt with, with utmost urgency.

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Farming is a way of life and for those kids growing up on farms it is not only the family’s livelihood but their playground too. Of course, people often believe that farm children understand farm risks.  But it’s not as simple as that -most children who die in farm incidents are family members (either of the farm owner or of farm workers).The tragic headlines this week regarding the death of a 2 year old boy, who was killed when he was run over by his father after the boy fell off the tractor while they were loading silage, demonstrates the need for all who live and work on farms to be vigilant regarding children’s safety around tractors.

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