The Older Farmers program formed part of the Farm Injury Prevention Project which was funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing over a three year period.

The Older Farmer program had been initiated as a result of statistics which indicate that the rate of injury and death of farmers over the age of 55 years was greater than those of  younger farmers.

Planning saw workshops for Older Farmers being held in most states of Australia with a good cross section of agricultural production represented.  The objective of the workshops was to seek the farmers experience in defining the specific tasks on farm that which are more difficult for them to achieve, then collectively use the farmers considerable experience to find ways to make the work easier.

The final outcome of the workshops and culmination of the farmers input isa practical resource "The Great Idea Bank" which covers - identification of tasks that are harder to do, practical ways to do the job easier and information on the physical changes experienced as we age, as well as what we can do to maintain our health and wellbeing.

The second phase of this program will see the implementation of workshops being hosted by community groups to evaluate and promote the use of the resource more broadly.

Chartbook - The health and Safety of Older Farmers in Australia. Go to Research Reports under Chartbook Series.

For further information about the resource or planning a workshop please contact:

Debbie Payne
Phone: 02 67528210
Email: debbie.payne@sydney.edu.au