Francie Gorman: we need to make farm safety a number one priority

AS we prepare for the 12th Farm Safety Week, I am encouraging farmers to make safety a priority on their farm during Farm Safety Week and to take the necessary steps to safeguard yourself and your loved ones on farm.

By making safety a priority on your farm, you’re not only protecting your wellbeing, but also ensuring the longevity and success of your farming operations.

The rate of farm accidents and fatalities is too high, and we need to make safety a number one priority.

Farm work can be hazardous, but many accidents are preventable. By being mindful of safety and taking proactive measures, you can protect yourself and those who depend on you. I urge farmers to make changes now to create safer working environments.

In the course of the week, a range of topics will be covered. They include:

As part of #farmsafetyweek, IFA is hosting three regional farm safety events:

Initiated by the Farm Safety Foundation in the UK and led by the IFA in Ireland, Farm Safety Week has the support of more than 400 partners in five countries – here, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Stephanie Berkeley, manager of the Farm Safety Foundation (Yellow Wellies), the charity leading the campaign, said “According to the International Labour Office (ILO), agriculture employs half of the world’s labour force.

“It remains one of the three most hazardous sectors of activity (along with construction and mining). We can’t let this continue.

This year marks the 12th year of the campaign and while the attitudes and behaviours around farm safety are changing, the pace of change is slow – too slow for the families of those we have lost in the industry and too slow for the thousands of farmers suffering every day with long term ill-health or serious injuries as a result of their work.

This year’s Farm Safety Week offers an opportunity for a real reset of the way we approach farm safety and risk-taking.

We cannot continue to tolerate poor safety behaviors, we cannot assume that it is somebody else’s job to drive this change in culture, and we cannot rely on luck when going about our daily tasks.