Thursday, 23 July 2026

“It's not a badge of honour”: Cotton farmer calls on Australians to rethink the culture of pushing through.

Working longer hours, skipping breaks, driving tired and pushing through fatigue. According to New South Wales cotton farmer Gavin Dal Broi, these behaviours have become so normalised across Australian agriculture that they're often worn "like a badge of honour," and it's putting lives at risk.

This National Farm Safety Week, the Griffith cotton grower is calling on the industry to rethink the pressure farmers place on themselves, warning that the biggest risk isn't always the machinery, it's the belief that every job has to be finished at any cost.

"Fatigue and pressure in agriculture... we wear it like a badge of honour," Mr Dal Broi said.

"For generations we've prided ourselves on working long hours and pushing through, but sometimes the safest thing you can do is slow down or take a break."

Operating a 2,000-hectare cotton enterprise west of Griffith, Mr Dal Broi understands the realities of farming under pressure. "We've got incredibly short planting windows and weather events that can change everything," he said.

"There's always a reason to rush a job. It could be irrigation water running down a channel that needs attention or a machinery breakdown 80 kilometres away."

"In those moments it's easy to speed. It's easy to leave the seatbelt off because you think it'll only take a minute." "But you have to stop and remember that if something goes wrong, you might not be going home to see your kids."

As part of Farmsafe Australia's ‘Set the Standard: Show ‘em how it’s done’ campaign, Mr Dal Broi is encouraging farmers to recognise that the standards set during the busiest periods often become the standards others follow.

"When speed becomes more important than safety, it sends a message that safety isn't valued," he said. "What you do during busy periods sets the standard for everyone else. People copy what they see."

Mr Dal Broi believes one of agriculture's biggest misconceptions is that slowing down costs time. "Sometimes slowing down is actually the fastest way to get the job done," he said.

"You rush, you push machinery harder than you should, something breaks down and suddenly you've lost hours or even days."

He said safer decisions were also better business decisions.

"Profitability is incredibly important to every farmer and sometimes it's seen as more important than getting the job done safely," he said.

"But in the long run, getting the job done safely is actually more profitable for the business."

"The shortcut isn't worth it."

Farmsafe Australia Chair Felicity Richards said busy periods were when strong safety leadership mattered most.

"Agriculture is full of pressure points; weather windows, machinery breakdowns, staffing shortages and long days," Ms Richards said.

"But those are also the moments when people are watching how leaders respond."

"When someone chooses to slow down, wear a seatbelt, stop to reassess conditions or speak up about fatigue, they're showing others that safety comes before speed."

"The standards we set during the busiest and most challenging times are often the ones that shape workplace culture for years to come."

‘Set the Standard: Show ‘em how it’s done’, Farmsafe Australia’s National Farm Safety Week campaign, runs from 19–25 July 2026. For more information and resources, visit Farmsafe Australia.

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About Farmsafe Australia

Farmsafe Australia is the peak industry body, bringing together farmers, industry experts, and agricultural stakeholders to ensure that every farm has access to safety information and education to create a safer place to live and work. With deep roots in the agricultural community, we share trusted resources and expert insights, ensuring every farm has access to support to help them protect what matters most.

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Disclaimer: These suggestions are intended as a guide only and are designed to provide information - it is not legal advice and does not take the place of proper individualised on-farm workplace inductions, work, health and safety training, or any other tailored steps which may be necessary to protect health and safety at specific worksites.