Dr. David Meredith:

We do not have such figures, not because we have not sought them but because it is very difficult to get comparable information. Different countries record statistics on fatalities in very different ways. Although one would think a farm fatality is a farm fatality, different countries record them very differently and it is very difficult to make international comparisons. A larger proportion of all deaths on farms are accounted for by older farmers. However, since the onset of the recession, this has reversed and younger farmers, particularly those aged between 45 and 64, are beginning to make up most of the deaths. Those are the raw numbers; we can also examine the rate. Considering the number of fatalities per person aged over 65 years, older farmers are much more likely to die. We think this reflects the fact that while people may have accidents throughout their lives, as they age the accidents become fatal. Whereas a person who has an accident aged 16, 26 or 36 may end up in hospital, a person aged over 65 who has an accident is more likely to die from it.