Entries closing shortly for farm safety calendar competition
Get in quick! Entries for the Farm Safety Calendar Competition close next month, with gift vouchers on offer for the best submissions in 2022.
Apart from the prizes and the prestige of the winning drawings being included in the 2023 calendars, the competition highlights safety risks around the farm and how children, their families and communities can work and play safe.
Since 2001, 1632 people have lost their life on a farm, according to recent figures published by AgriFutures Australia. Tragically, 235 of these were children under 15 years (14.4%). Tractors and quad bikes were the leading cause of fatalities, which is why the calendar competition this year features special messages for tractor and quad bike safety.
The project gives parents and teachers the opportunity to speak to children about farm safety, discuss each of the risks, why they are dangerous and how the risks can be controlled to keep them safe. They can also discuss why it’s important to talk to an adult if they feel unsafe or see something unsafe.
As well as quads and tractors, this year’s competition also targets electrical safety, animal safety, machinery safety, water safety, and health and wellbeing.
Each winner will receive a $250 gift voucher and $500 for their school. Entries close on Friday 24 June and winners will be announced in October, when 30,000 free calendars will be distributed across the state.
The agriculture industry employs three per cent of Queensland’s workers but accounts for a third of workplace deaths. The industry has a traditionally high workplace death and injury rate, with farm vehicles, sometimes involving children, figuring prominently.
The calendar provides an opportunity for safety messages to be displayed in homes and workplaces, reminding Queenslanders of all ages to work and play safely on farms.
Last year’s competition received more than 1,900 entries, raising awareness among primary school children and their communities of common hazards on rural properties.
How to enter
Students are encouraged to draw and colour a picture to illustrate one of the farm safety theme messages.
Entries must be submitted on white paper using the competition template at worksafe.qld.gov.au where you can find more information. All fields on the template need to be completed in legible handwriting, including the student’s first and last names, grade, school and a consent signature from the student’s teacher, parent or guardian.