The law does not ask a farm to eliminate every risk. It asks the farm to assess the risks that matter and do something sensible about them. On a farm the risks that matter are the ones that kill: farm transport, livestock, falls from height, slurry gases, and moving machinery. So the real question about a farm risk assessment app is not how many templates it ships with. It is whether the assessment reflects the farm as it is, and whether the worker will actually record it.
Guide · Agriculture
Farm risk assessment app for the UK.
How to assess and record the risks that actually kill on a farm, livestock, slurry, transport and working at height, and capture the assessment on the phone in the worker's pocket instead of a folder nobody opens.
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The point
A risk assessment does not control the risk.
The control does. Fencing the slurry store, handling cattle from a race, using Safe Stop. The assessment records what could go wrong and what you have done about it. A good tool means the assessment reflects the farm as it is today, not a template written years ago and never looked at since.
The killers, assessed
Where a farm risk assessment earns its place.
Livestock
Cattle and handling
Being crushed, trampled or attacked, especially around calving and by bulls. Handling systems, escape routes and who is allowed near stock.
SlurryStores, gases and drowning
Hydrogen sulphide released on agitation, drowning in stores and lagoons, and the ventilation, fencing and exclusion controls that manage them.
Transport and heightVehicles and falls
Farm transport is the biggest single killer; falls from roofs, trailers and bale stacks the next. Segregation, edge protection and safe access.
The friction
The assessment in the folder nobody opens.
A generic risk assessment printed once and filed does not protect anyone, and an assessor can tell it was never revisited. The assessment that reflects the actual job, the actual field, the actual weather that day is the one that counts. Capture it where the work happens, not at a desk weeks later.
Run risk assessments on WhatsApp
No app install. No training.
Workers use the phone they already have. Talk through the job as a voice note, photograph the hazard, and the assessment writes itself. Setup to first live workflow usually takes under a week.
The short version
- The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 place the duty to assess risks and record the significant findings where five or more people are employed.
- The big farm killers to assess are transport and vehicles, livestock, falls from height, slurry and gases, and moving machinery.
- COSHH covers pesticides and veterinary medicines and needs its own assessment.
- A generic assessment printed and filed protects no one; the assessment has to reflect the actual job and be revisited.
- Per-report pricing beats per-seat for a farm with seasonal and shared labour, because adding people is free.
- The assessment does not control the risk. The control does. The assessment records what could go wrong and what you have done about it.
The law in plain terms
What a risk assessment has to do
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require an employer to make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to workers and to anyone else affected, and to record the significant findings where five or more people are employed. The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 sits behind it as the general duty. COSHH adds a specific assessment duty for hazardous substances, which on a farm means pesticides, sheep dip and veterinary medicines.
A suitable and sufficient assessment identifies the real hazards, decides who might be harmed and how, and sets out the controls that reduce the risk so far as is reasonably practicable. It is not a form-filling exercise, and a template that ignores the actual farm is not suitable and sufficient. This is a guide, not legal advice; check the current HSE guidance.
The killers
The risks worth assessing properly
These are the areas where farm risk assessments earn their keep, because these are where people die.
- Farm transport - the single biggest cause of farm deaths. Segregating people from vehicles, safe reversing, and overturning tractors and quad bikes
- Livestock - being crushed, trampled or attacked, especially cattle around calving and bulls. Handling systems, escape routes and controlling who goes near stock
- Falls from height - barn and shed roofs, trailers, bale stacks and ladders. Edge protection, safe access and fragile roof controls
- Slurry and gases - drowning in stores and lagoons, and being overcome by hydrogen sulphide released on agitation. Ventilation, fencing, and clearing people and animals during agitation
- Moving machinery - being caught in unguarded parts including PTO shafts. Guarding and Safe Stop
Children on farms cut across all of these, because the farm is a home as well as a workplace. Quickler lets a worker talk the job through as a voice note and photograph the hazard, so the assessment reflects the real field rather than a generic form.
Chemicals
COSHH on the farm
The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH) require a separate assessment for hazardous substances. On a farm that means pesticides and plant protection products, sheep dip, and veterinary medicines, plus dusts and gases like the hydrogen sulphide from slurry. The assessment has to cover safe storage, correct PPE, application, and disposal, and pesticide use also requires the right certificate of competence.
Quickler can record the COSHH check, the product used, the PPE worn and a photo of the store or the label, as evidence with a date. It does not decide whether a product is safe to use, or replace the label instructions and the certificate of competence. Treat the chemical safety judgement as the competent operator's, and follow the product label and current HSE and pesticide guidance.
Pricing
Per report, not per seat
Most risk assessment tools charge per seat. For a farm that is the wrong shape. The people who need to record an assessment are seasonal, casual or contractors, and a per-seat bill grows every time you take one on. The assessment should be free to record however many hands are on the farm this week.
Quickler charges per report, with unlimited users on every bundle. Bundles run from Quickler 50 at 50 pounds a month for 50 reports, up to Quickler 500 at 500 pounds a month for 500 reports. Everyone on the farm can record an assessment; you pay for the reports filed, not the people who could file them. Pricing is approximate and shifts, so check the current pricing page before you commit.
Questions, answered
What is a farm risk assessment app?
It is a tool that helps a farm assess the risks of a job and record the significant findings and controls. The options range from paper and spreadsheets, to generic audit apps, to conversation-based tools like Quickler that let a worker talk the job through over WhatsApp and photograph the hazard, so the assessment reflects the real work rather than a template.
Does a farm legally have to do risk assessments?
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require an employer to assess the risks to workers and others and to record the significant findings where five or more people are employed. COSHH adds a duty for hazardous substances such as pesticides and veterinary medicines. There is no single prescribed form. Check the current HSE guidance, as this is a guide and not legal advice.
What are the biggest risks to assess on a farm?
The risks that kill most often on British farms are farm transport and vehicles, livestock such as cattle, falls from height, slurry and gases like hydrogen sulphide, and moving machinery including PTO shafts. Children on farms cut across all of them. These are the areas where a risk assessment carries the most weight.
Can I do a farm risk assessment over WhatsApp?
Yes. Quickler's risk assessment runs over the WhatsApp Business API. The worker talks the job through as a voice note or text, photographs the hazard, and the assessment generates automatically with a date and image. No separate app or login is required, and Quickler manages the WhatsApp Business API account on the farm's behalf.