How to keep your farm compliant

What types of farming standards and regulations are there to keep your farm compliant? 

Farm health and safety 

You are required to do risk assessments for each area of your farm. Your farm health and safety policy will need to align with government regulations. Without a risk assessment, you won’t be able to put things in place to lower potential risk. You need to be able to show evidence that you have carried out an assessment, and taken reasonable action to mitigate an accident.  

Building health and safety 

Property on your farm needs to be kept in good repair, making sure there are no trip hazards, lighting is adequate, and ultimately that your people are safe. Regular inspections of machinery, and the condition of all buildings will allow you to address issues before they become dangerous. You should document all health and safety risk assessments digitally to easily evidence them, keeping your farm compliant.  

Chemical management 

Chemicals such as pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides, require strict guidelines and procedures. Your clients will want to know exactly which chemicals were used, how much, and how often. As pesticides are designed to cause a physiological response, they can also be harmful to humans, which is why the government requires you to keep your farm compliant. You need to document every step, especially if the crop requires the toxic chemicals to be washed off.  

Vehicle checks and maintenance 

Faulty vehicles, such as ploughs or tractors, can be mildly inconvenient, to extremely dangerous. The health and safety on a farm can be challenging due to a lot of big machinery being moved around constantly. Before a vehicle can be signed out of the Farm management software, it should have a health and safety checklist complete. This protects the user from using faulty equipment, and lowers potential injury risk.