The Department of Labour has expressed concern about Quad Bike safety. Their statistics are that: every year 850 people are injured and five people are killed on New Zealand farms in work-related quad bike incidents.

The Department of Labour is about to visit farms and orchards in the Te Puke, Paengaroa area checking on quad bikes and compliance with the Quad Bike guidelines. In this autumn phase, Department of Labour will be visiting kiwifruit orchards and will ensure staff comply with the protocols in the Orchard Psa-V Biosecurity guide.

A flyer relating to quad bikes and the four key messages in the Quad Bike guidelines is available for download below.

9 DECEMBER 2011 - NZKGI would like to remind growers that when you are spraying that you also need to comply with your Regional Council rules. On NZKGI’s Website under the Grower Guidance Section is some information that has been prepared on notification. The spray plan template and some RMA summaries that have been prepared for the Agchem Education Trust are also available.

Users need to be aware that the Regional Plan requirements override any advice e.g. re notification. For instance some plans require that notification is given by the applicator – not the owner.

Te Awanui Huka Pak has produced a practical reference manual called the Psa Tool Box Version 2.3 (29 November 2011). It provides a ‘toolkit’ for growers, orchardists and staff to help make critical decisions for orchards prior to and post-Psa.

If you have any comments about this document please contact Barry Penellum at Seeka Te Awanui on 07 572 5955 or email Barry here.

Please note that the file is approximately 4 mb's in size and may take some time to download if you are on a slow connection.

22 AUGUST 2011 - A Spray Notifications Best Practice document has been created. When growers and/or contractors are undertaking spraying they shall comply with the following:

• ZESPRI Crop Protection Programme
• GROWSAFE
• The Code of Practice for the Management of Agrichemicals NZS 8409
• The Resource Management Act (RMA)
• The Hazardous Substances and New Organisms (HSNO) Act
• Regional Air Plans

Non compliance to the above may result in the applicator being given an infringement notice, abatement notice or it can lead to prosecution. An applicator may also face civil action, or have to pay compensation to affected parties.

A copy of the Best Practice for Spraying Flier is available for download below. More information is available from ZESPRI's Canopy Website.

25 AUGUST 2011 - Aon New Zealand has pleasure in announcing that Kiwifruit Growers can once again purchase insurance for Frost & Hail this season.

Growers can choose to cover hail only, frost only, or a combination of both in one cover. Once again substantial discounts are available for growers with sprinkler or fan protection. This season you can now insure your Green kiwifruit up to $50,000 per hectare and Gold kiwifruit up to $70,000 per hectare.

Further to this, Aon acknowledge the threat of Psa and have procedures in place, in the event your orchard contracts Psa and the crop is destroyed, you may be entitled to a pro rata refund of your premium. Please contact Aon to discuss how this could work for you.

The principal contact for this cover this year is Paul Martin who can be contacted on 09 362 9079, or alternatively Charlene Kitching on 07 577 6017.

A copy of the flyer and details is available for download below.

Reducing Injuries on Farms/Orchards from Quad Bikes

Department of Labour have launched a new safety campaign that aims to reduce the high number of farmers/orchardists and farm/orchard workers being injured and killed on quad bikes.

Every year about 850 people are injured on farms riding quad bikes. Five die. This toll has prompted a Department of Labour safety campaign that promotes four basic safety steps:

• Ensure riders are trained/experienced enough to do the job
• Wear a helmet
• Choose the right vehicle for the job
• Don’t let kids ride adult quad bikes

“Quad bikes are often referred to as All Terrain Vehicles or ATVs,” says Department of Labour Chief Adviser on Health and Safety Dr Geraint Emrys.
“But they can’t go everywhere and do everything. Riders need to respect their limits and follow the manufacturers’ operating instructions.”

Over the next few months the Department will be promoting the four basic safety steps in rural communities. It will also publish new safety guidelines for farm quad bikes that include other important ways to prevent accidents – like keeping bikes well maintained.

Education by itself is not enough to change behaviour, so from April 2011 the campaign will broaden to also include enforcement. Inspectors will be focusing on farms/orchards, and where people are working with quad bikes in a dangerous way Inspectors are likely to take enforcement action.

The Department will pay particular attention to accidents involving farm and orchard workers. If someone working on a farm or orchard is seriously injured or killed by a quad bike and these basic safety steps haven’t been followed then the Department is likely to prosecute the farmer/orchardist.

More information about quad bike safety on farms/orchards is available from the Department of Labour's website or ring 0800 20 90 20.

Sidebar
Ensure Riders are Trained/Experienced Enough to do the Job
Before anyone rides your quad bikes assess their skills. If they need training the best option is a skills course. More information about accredited training providers is available from the NZQA Website or call 0800 697 296. You can also contact your local quad bike dealer and ask about courses in your area.

Wear a Helmet
Helmets can be the difference between walking away from an accident and suffering a life-changing brain injury or dying.

Choose the Right Vehicle for the Job
When considering if a quad bike is the right vehicle for the job pay close attention to what your quad bike owner’s manual says about maximum towing and carrying limits, and about carrying passengers. The vast majority of quad bikes used on New Zealand farms/orchards are designed for one rider and the manufacturers say they should not be used to carry passengers. If you need to carry passengers and your quad bike isn’t designed to do that, the safest option is to use another type of vehicle. Also pay attention to the maximum towed and carried load limits for your bike.

Don’t let Kids Ride Adult Quad Bikes
Quad bike manufacturers set minimum ages for using their bikes based on the age when young people have sufficient strength, body weight and mental ability to master the safe riding techniques. On all adult-sized quad bikes (over 90cc) sold in New Zealand that age is 16 or older.

NOVEMBER 2010 - There has been an increasing number of eye injuries in our orchards including 2008 with an orchard worker losing sight in one eye. To assess whether eye protection should become mandatory for anyone going into an orchard, which was the Government’s initial approach, a project was undertaken. NZKGI, ACC, Health and Safety (Department of Labour) and OPAC initiated the project to identify the level of risk that is present in kiwifruit orchards. NZKGI ran the project, but did not fund it.

The result was the development of best practice guidelines to eliminate, isolate and minimise the risk of eye injuries occurring on kiwifruit orchards. A process is established in the guidelines to first identify any wire hazards and, if possible to eliminate it, or to isolate it, and if that is not possible to minimise it. If elimination is incomplete or not undertaken eye protection is compulsory.

On the last page of the booklet an assessment of the available safety glasses is given based on trials that have been conducted and the glasses can be obtained from your local Protector Safety Store. The guidelines were published and distributed to all growers in November 2009. If you did not get a copy of the guidelines please contact NZKGI for a professionally printed copy on (07) 574 7139 or toll free 0800 232 505.

A web version copy of the guidelines is available by downloading the attachment. Please note it is 2 MB in size so may take a while to download depending on connection speed.

9 APRIL 2010 - Contractors Tax has now been extended to the vegetable industry.

If you contract a contractor to work for you, unless that contractor has a certificate of exemption, then you are required to deduct 15 cents from your payments to the contractor.

Click on the link below for a copy of the updated brochure.

SEPTEMBER 2009 - Department of Labour has produced a new first aid guide that will help employers comply with their legal obligations and keep their workers safe.

The guide includes easy-to-use worksheets to help employers tailor their first aid preparations to suit the hazards in their individual workplace. A copy of the guide and summary sheet is available by downloading the following documents.

• We are getting an increasing number of complaints from the public about how bird strike is being dealt with.
• For advice on how to manage this - please download the documents listed below.
• How we as an industry manage this has enormous potential to be a public and in-market relations nightmare.
• If you or a member of the public have any problems associated with how an orchardist is dealing with bird strike ring NZKGI’s bird strike hot line 0800 232 505.

27 AUGUST 2008 - In light of the tax evasion schemes in the horticultural industry that the IRD as been cracking down on recently, Minter Ellison Rudd Watts have written an article setting out the tax requirements of a grower or contractor. This article would set out the basic GST/PAYE/Withholding tax requirements just to ensure that those in the industry are clear on their obligations.

A copy of this article is available for download by clicking on the PDF attachment below.

The opinions expressed by the authors in the following article may not reflect NZKGI's opinions. NZKGI does not make any representation as to the accuracy of information in this article.

Joanne Dunne is a Partner and Marcus Roberts a Law Clerk in the tax team at Minter Ellison Rudd Watts, a law firm with offices in Wellington and in Auckland. Joanne can be contacted at joanne.dunne@minterellison.co.nz, or direct on (09) 353 9990 if you have any queries about this article.

5 MARCH 2010 - During the 2008 Harvest, NZKGI filmed and developed Best Practice for Harvesting DVD that will provide growers and post-harvest operators with a training tool to help train new growers, supervisors, contractors and pickers in the principles of best practice for harvesting.

The development of the DVD has highlighted the need to also provide some written fact sheets to provide extra information to growers and supervisors that could not be portrayed clearly in the DVD format. These fact sheets were sent to all growers along with a free copy of the DVD in late February 2009.

• Fact Sheet: Contracting Harvesting Services
• Fact Sheet: Managing Orchard Hazards During Picking
• Fact Sheet: Minimising Physical Damage During Harvest – GOLD
• Fact Sheet: Minimising Physical Damage During Harvest – GREEN
• Fact Sheet: Supervising the Harvest

Extra copies of the DVD and associated fact sheets are available from NZKGI's Office. Contact Christine McMillan for further information on 574 7139 or 0800 232 505.