The young Springbank footballer was airlifted to The Alfred hospital on March 27 when a tree fell on his chest, severely injuring his spine. 

In the last two months the 20-year-old has finally been able to take up tractor work, with the aim of returning to his electrical apprenticeship in the coming months. 

Mr Simpson said while “there wasn’t a lot more (he) could have done” to avoid the accident, it had made him more cautious on the farm.  “It makes you think twice about doing stuff if it could potentially be dangerous,” Mr Simpson said.  “It’s all about assessing the situation.” 

The accident came in a horror year for deaths on farms throughout Victoria, with agriculture the highest contributing industry to the state’s worst workplace fatality rate in eight years.

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Regional Victoria continued to be over represented in the figures, with 20 of the 27 fatalities occurring outside of Melbourne.  Older men were the most common victims with nine of those killed aged 65 or older, two of whom were killed in the Ballarat area. 

On March 17 a 68-year-old man was struck by a struck by a tractor which he had jump started in a machinery shed in Meredith. 

The man suffered serious head injuries and later died in hospital. 

In November a 76-year-old Corindhap man died in hospital from burns after sparks from the angle grinder he was using caused a fire. 

Of the 27 deaths recorded in 2017, 16 involved vehicles or mobile machinery.  Fourteen occurred on farms, the industry’s highest figure since 2004.

In a statement WorkSafe's head of operations and emergency management Adam Watson said the toll showed employees and employers alike needed to think more about how they could improve safety in the workplace.

“"This toll is more than a statistic. It represents families and friendship circles missing loved ones, workplaces devastated by the death of a colleague, and local communities left with a gap that can never be filled," Mr Watson said.

"Many of those who died were doing tasks they have done many times before, so it is important that everyone takes the time to plan their day with safety in mind.

“Together we must do more to reduce this terrible toll.”