When this template fits
This RAMS is for UK contractors and agriculture teams carrying out farm risk assessment — typically because a principal contractor or client has asked for a risk assessment and method statement before work can start. It covers the recognised site & general hazards for this task, with the controls a reviewer expects to see.
What this RAMS includes
- ✓ 8 task-specific hazards scored on a 5×5 matrix (initial → residual)
- ✓ Specific control measures for each hazard, in hierarchy-of-control order
- ✓ A 9-step method statement (sequence of works)
- ✓ PPE, plant/equipment, permits and competence requirements
- ✓ Emergency arrangements and operative briefing / sign-off section
Scope of works
Farm and agricultural risk assessment — vehicles and machinery, livestock, working at height and the public.
Sequence of works
- 1Step 1 — Planning and consultation: Identify all farm activities to be assessed (vehicles and machinery, livestock handling, work at height, public interface). Consult workers, contractors and relevant documentation. Ensure a competent person leads or reviews the risk assessment.
- 2Step 2 — Site inspection: Walk the farm to identify all significant hazards in each area (yards, fields, buildings, public access routes, grain stores, heights). Record findings systematically, referencing the hazard categories identified.
- 3Step 3 — Hazard identification and risk evaluation: For each hazard identified, assess the likelihood of harm and its severity to determine the risk level (low/medium/high/very high). Consider all persons at risk including employees, family members, contractors, visitors and the public.
- 4Step 4 — Control measure selection: Apply the hierarchy of control — first seek to eliminate the hazard, then substitute, then engineer controls, then administrative measures, and finally PPE. Select controls proportionate to the risk level.
- 5Step 5 — Traffic management: Establish and document the farm traffic management plan covering vehicle routes, speed limits, pedestrian segregation, reversing rules and visitor vehicle management. Brief all drivers and post site plans at entry points.
- 6Step 6 — Livestock and machinery safe systems: Develop and communicate written safe systems of work for livestock handling, machinery operation, PTO guarding, lockout/isolation and vehicle refuelling. Confirm all workers are trained and competent.
- 7Step 7 — Public access and visitor control: Review all rights of way and visitor access points; ensure signage, fencing and barriers are in place and adequate. Implement visitor sign-in and briefing procedure; check obligations under HSW Act s3.
- 8Step 8 — Record, communicate and implement: Document the completed risk assessment, sign and date it. Share with all relevant workers and contractors. Ensure control measures are physically implemented before work resumes or continues.
- 9Step 9 — Review and update: Set a review date (at least annually or after any significant change, incident or near miss). Monitor effectiveness of controls through regular inspections and worker feedback.
Hazards, risk rating & controls
Risk = likelihood × severity (1–25). Initial is before controls; residual is with controls applied.
Vehicle strike
Who’s at risk: Operatives, Other trades on site, Members of the public
- › Establish and mark clearly defined pedestrian routes and vehicle-only zones using barriers, signs and ground markings to physically separate foot traffic from vehicle movements.
- › Produce and communicate a farm traffic management plan covering vehicle routes, one-way systems, reversing restrictions, speed limits and visitor/contractor rules.
- › Fit reversing cameras or audible alarms to farm vehicles where practicable; where reversing in proximity to persons is unavoidable, deploy a trained banksman/spotter.
- › All persons working in vehicle operating areas to wear high-visibility vest or jacket to ensure they are visible to vehicle operators.
Machinery entanglement
Who’s at risk: Operatives, Other trades on site, Members of the public
- › Ensure all PTO shafts have full-length guards and all other dangerous moving parts are guarded to PUWER requirements. Never remove guards during operation.
- › Implement a formal isolation and lockout procedure for all maintenance and clearing tasks; engine off, key removed, PTO disengaged before approaching any working parts.
- › Only trained and competent persons to operate agricultural machinery; training records to be maintained and reviewed periodically.
- › Operators to wear close-fitting clothing with no loose ends; no scarves, jewellery or baggy clothing near rotating parts. Steel-toecap boots required.
Livestock handling injury
Who’s at risk: Operatives, Other trades on site, Members of the public
- › Use purpose-built crush, race, pen or handling system designed for the species being handled to minimise direct physical contact and provide handler escape routes.
- › Establish written safe working procedures for handling each species, including rules about working alone with bulls, isolating cows with young calves, and managing aggressive animals.
- › Ensure at least two escape routes are always available in any area where livestock are handled; gates and barriers to be in good repair.
- › Handlers to wear steel-toecap boots and appropriate protective clothing to reduce injury severity from kicks and crushing.
Fall from height
Who’s at risk: Operatives, Other trades on site, Members of the public
- › Redesign work activities to be carried out at ground level where reasonably practicable, eliminating the need to work at height.
- › Where collective protection is not feasible (e.g. work in riser shafts), operatives to wear a harness with appropriate anchor point and restraint or fall-arrest lanyard.
- › Provide a suitable fixed or tower scaffold stairway or ladder system for roof access; inspect and tag before use.
- › Where work at height cannot be avoided, install collective fall protection such as edge protection, guardrails or safety nets before allowing work to commence.
Public interface — unauthorised access
Who’s at risk: Operatives, Other trades on site, Members of the public
- › Maintain fencing, gates and barriers to prevent unauthorised access to dangerous areas; erect clear warning signs at all entry points and at areas with specific hazards (e.g. bull in field, machinery operating).
- › Implement a visitor sign-in procedure; brief all visitors and contractors on site hazards and rules before allowing access; ensure children are supervised at all times.
- › Where public rights of way cross the farm, clearly waymark the path, divert where legally permitted during high-risk operations, and ensure livestock in fields with public paths are appropriate species with no known aggression issues.
Manual handling musculoskeletal injury
Who’s at risk: Operatives, Other trades on site, Members of the public
- › Use telehandlers, pallet trucks, bale handlers, conveyors or other mechanical aids to eliminate or reduce manual lifting of heavy items.
- › Where possible procure materials in smaller unit sizes (e.g. 25 kg bags rather than bulk bags) to reduce individual lift weight.
- › Provide manual handling training to all workers covering safe lifting technique, team lifting and recognising when to seek mechanical assistance.
- › Provide supportive footwear; consider back support belts for workers undertaking sustained heavy lifting only where assessed as beneficial by a competent person.
Slips and trips on farm yard and uneven ground
Who’s at risk: Operatives, Other trades on site, Members of the public
- › Maintain yard surfaces, repair potholes and cracks, ensure adequate drainage to prevent pooling of water and slurry, and clean down regularly.
- › Keep pedestrian routes clear of equipment, hoses, ropes and debris; mark designated walkways and keep them free of obstructions.
- › All workers to wear wellington boots or safety boots with slip-resistant soles appropriate for agricultural conditions.
Zoonotic disease and biological hazard
Who’s at risk: Operatives, Other trades on site, Members of the public
- › Provide adequate handwashing facilities with soap and running water at accessible locations. Enforce strict no-eating/drinking/smoking rules in animal and waste areas.
- › Carry out a COSHH assessment identifying zoonotic risks for each operation (e.g. lambing, calf rearing, slurry handling) and implement appropriate control measures.
- › Ensure workers at risk (e.g. those handling cattle) are offered appropriate vaccination where available (e.g. leptospirosis), and are aware of symptoms to report.
- › Provide and ensure use of disposable gloves, waterproof aprons and where necessary face protection when handling sick animals, carcasses or slurry.
PPE
- ✓ Safety footwear (EN ISO 20345)
- ✓ Hi-vis clothing
- ✓ Safety gloves (task-appropriate)
- ✓ Hard hat (EN 397) where overhead risk or site rules require
- ✓ Safety harness and lanyard where fall arrest is the selected control
- ✓ RPE per the COSHH assessment
- ✓ Chemical-resistant gloves
Competence
- ✓ Site induction completed; CSCS or equivalent where the site requires it
Schemes (CSCS, PASMA, IPAF…) evidence competence; they are not statutory requirements in themselves.
Plant & equipment
- › Welfare units and signage
- › Barriers, cones and pedestrian segregation
- › First-aid kits and eye-wash
- › Spill kits
- › Communication (radios / lone-worker device)
Permits & legislation
What principal contractors usually check
- ✓ Welfare provision matching CDM 2015 Schedule 2
- ✓ Traffic management and pedestrian routes
- ✓ Lone-working check-in arrangements where relevant
- ✓ The document is site-specific — real address, access arrangements and dates, not a generic template
- ✓ Hazards match the actual task and the controls are specific (not “take care” and “use PPE”)
- ✓ Named supervisor and competent person, with operative sign-off space
- ✓ Emergency and rescue arrangements that work for this site
The report builder runs these as pre-submission checks before you download — or run an existing document through the free RAMS pre-submission checker.
Frequently asked questions
Who should write a farm risk assessment RAMS?
Someone competent to plan the work — usually the contractor doing the job or their supervisor. A template like this gives you the recognised hazards and controls for farm risk assessment, but the person signing it off must review it as the competent person and confirm it matches the actual site and method.
How long is the RAMS valid for?
Until something changes — there's no fixed expiry in law. Review it if the method, site conditions, equipment or people change, after any incident or near miss, and at sensible intervals on longer jobs. Date the review and re-brief the team.
What regulations apply to farm risk assessment?
PUWER 1998 — Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations, Work at Height Regulations 2005, Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, section 3 are the main ones, alongside Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992, Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, reg 3 — risk assessment, Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH). The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and CDM 2015 apply to all construction work.
Does a RAMS need to be site-specific?
Yes — this is the most common reason documents get sent back. Principal contractors reject generic copy-paste RAMS. Your document should name the site, access arrangements, dates, supervisor and any site-specific hazards. The RamsDocs builder fills these in for you and flags what's missing before you download.
Is this template free?
Yes — everything on RamsDocs is free during early access, including building a site-specific version of this RAMS and downloading the PDF. No card required.