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Assess the safety of your drafting
Unsafe
- No escape routes for cattle handlers operating drafting gates in the yard.
- Poorly maintained gates that do not swing or shut securely.
- Pens that are too small or too big for the number of cattle being drafted.
- Drafting in yards with uneven or boggy surfaces, or with rocks and debris.
- Cattle handlers not wearing appropriate PPE.
- Drafting cattle alone.
- Not providing cattle handlers with information about the task and potential cattle issues.
Basic safety
- Escape routes for cattle handlers who are in with the cattle in the drafting area and forcing pen.
- Well maintained gates, with latches that can be shut quickly and easily.
- Pens that are an appropriate size for the number of cattle being drafted.
- Flat, even yard surfaces. Sand, soft gravel or sawdust used to reduce the risk of boggy ground.
- Cattle handlers wearing solid footwear that is lightweight enough to work in.
- Working with an appropriate amount of cattle handlers for the herd and yards you are working with.
- Having a safety conversation prior to starting work to discuss the plan for the day, identifying any risks and how to reduce them.
Best practice
- A drafting set up that keeps people and cattle separate.
- Automatic gates that can be operated from outside of the yards.
- Non-slip catwalks for cattle handlers.
Scored concrete on surfaces where cattle and people are walking. - All cattle handlers wearing solid footwear and protective clothing, such as chest protection vest and helmet.
Improve the safety of your drafting
Drafting is one of the most dangerous tasks to be undertaken in cattle yards. It requires trained and experienced cattle handlers, and wherever possible separation of people and cattle.
Avoid drafting cattle alone
Drafting cattle alone is unsafe. If you can't avoid someone drafting cattle alone, make sure they stay separate from the cattle wherever possible.
Keep people and cattle separate
Wherever possible, avoid people being in with the cattle when drafting.
If anyone needs to be in with the cattle make sure:
- There are easy to access escape routes that:
- everyone knows about before you start drafting
- do not require climbing over or under fences or rails
- are wide enough for people, but not cattle
- Gates are easy to move and close.
- Appropriate PPE is worn.
Make sure everyone knows how to draft cattle safely
Before anyone starts drafting make sure they know how to:
- safely operate the gates
- locate and use escape routes
- assess the behaviour of cattle and identify any concerns and hazards
- use the appropriate techniques for the pen size and number of cattle being drafted
Closely supervise new cattle handlers until you are sure they are competent and can do the job safely.
Have a pre-start chat
Have a safety discussion before you start drafting to:
- go over the plan for drafting, including identifying positioning
- show cattle handlers how the gates operate
- remind cattle handlers to ensure gates are securely closed before moving into the flight zone of cattle in the pen
- show cattle handlers where the escape routes are
- make sure you have enough cattle handlers to draft safely
- remind cattle handlers to remain alert to the behaviour of the cattle and what other cattle handlers are doing
Have an emergency procedure
You need to have an emergency procedure in place before you start drafting. Make sure everyone knows what the procedure is and what they need to do if something goes wrong.
Position and use gates with safety in mind
People can be seriously injured:
- if they are standing behind an open gate that gets kicked by a cow, steer or bull
- when a gate catch is not strong enough to stay securely shut when a cow, steer or bull turns back or charges
Making small changes to the flow of the yard and where gates are positioned could avoid injury or save a life.
When positioning your gate make sure it is flush with the yard wherever possible. Consider setting the gate in a position that you can easily grab it when you want to close it. If you are manually closing gates from inside the yards, always consider the position of your escape routes.
When moving gates always keep two hands on the gate rail at shoulder height.
When you have shut the gate always test that it is securely closed.
Ensure the gates in your drafting areas are kept well maintained so you can open and close them easily.
Make sure your surfaces are safe
The surfaces of your yards are important for the safety of both people and cattle. Uneven ground, rocks or debris can cause tripping hazards for cattle handlers. Boggy yards often mean that rubber boots need to be worn and pugging occurs, causing slippery and uneven surfaces.
Long term cattle management approaches
There are also long term approaches to cattle management to help make drafting safer. These include:
- Breeding for temperament.
- Using artificial insemination rather than having aggressive bulls on site.
- Undertaking yard acclimatisation with cattle on a regular basis.
Use the safest drafting layout for your cattle and yards
There are many different layouts used for drafting across Victoria. Some are safer than others.
- Yard drafting - Least safe
Yard drafting involves drafting between two different pens, with someone standing at a gate. This way of drafting has the most risk, and requires adequate escape routes and well trained cattle handlers.
- Pound system
The pound yard is often used as an entry to the working area, allowing multiple yard access to the forcing area with gates in up to 7 directions. It is placed as a hub, a central connecting point between a group of pens and lanes.
Manual pounds have been a common item in handling yards for many years. They are operated by a handler standing inside the pound, processing a small number of animals at a time and separating them using the exit gates. A manual pound should be used only to draft complete pens of cattle.
- Tear drop lane drafting
Tear drop lane drafting involves running cattle in ones and twos through a gate, and then going into the next yard, then drafting them into different yards. This method relies on adequate escape routes and well trained cattle handlers, but can be less risky than yard drafting.
- Tear drop / stick pound draft
In a tear drop/stick pound draft there is a person operating the pound from a raised platform, and a person operating a gate on the ground between the tear drop and the pound. This raised platform has the ability to open and draft from one raised position and is equipped with non-slip stairs and a hand rail. This method is less risky as it separates one of the operators from the cattle. Escape routes may still be required for the person operating the gate on the ground.
- Single file race drafting - Most safe
When single file drafting, people are completely handling the cattle flight zone outside of the race. At the end of the single file race there is usually a bank of gates to be able to split cattle into drafting pens. For example, a three way draft. This is best done when walking cattle through a crush where you can give the person on the gates time to open them.
You could also purchase an automatic drafter, which will draft from a remote point.
Improve your design over time
Utilise the latest understanding of cattle behaviour. Discuss with yard manufacturers and others to achieve yards where there is separation of people and cattle wherever possible. Ensure that you have good flow so that cattle can be worked through yards freely, without having to be forced.
Talk to the people who use your yards
People who work in many different yards are a great resource. Having safety conversations with the different people who use your yard can help you identify hazards and solutions.
If you are an employer, you also have a duty under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (OHS Act) to consult with your employees and contractors about health and safety. You can do this by making safety conversations a normal part of how you work.
Your responsibilities under the law
As a farmer you may be self-employed, employ people, or manage and control a farm. Regardless, you have duties under the OHS Act which can include ensuring, so far as is reasonably practicable:
- you provide a farm that is a safe working environment without risks to the health of your employees and contractors
- your farm activities don't expose persons other than employees, for example family, or visitors, to health and safety risks
- that people, including people making deliveries on the farm, can enter and leave the farm safely, and without risk to their health
- you consult with your employees and contractors about health and safety on your farm