The killing fields

A FRESH appeal has been made this week by a Galway farm representative to keep safety issues on top of the agenda during the peak summer season, following a shocking litany of deaths this year due to agricultural accidents.

Machinery has now established itself as the ‘big killer’ on Irish farmers accounting for the vast majority of fatalities prompting the IFA and the HSA (Health and Safety Authority) to plea for more safety routines and procedures to be put in place.

Of the 13 farm deaths so far this year, eight of them were machinery related, two were as a result of livestock attacks, another two involved being trapped or crushed while one was as a result of slurry gas suffocation/drowning.

Galway-Mayo IFA Regional Officer, Roy O’Brien, described the carnage on Irish farms so far this year as truly shocking and said that farmers and contractors should put in place a plan for safety routines to be followed.

“We all know that farmers and contractors can be under the most intense pressure this time of the year to get work done, especially in the context of varying weather conditions, but we are asking everyone just to keep thinking safety.

“What does it really matter if silage is a day late, if a family is left bereaved or if someone is left with a serious injury that will affect them for the rest of their lives. Every morning when a farmer wakes up, safety must be the first thing on his mind,” said Roy O’Brien.

He said that the high risk areas were farm machinery, slurry, livestock and the holiday season when schoolgoers were off for the summer.

“One farm death is one too many and if a little bit of time, a little bit of care and a little bit of planning can help to prevent such an occurrence, then it’s surely well worth the effort,” said Roy O’Brien.

Mark Ryan, Press Officer with the HSA, told the Farming Tribune, that while they understood the huge pressures that farmers often had to work under, safety just had to stay at the top of the agenda. He outlined six key safety points for farmers to try and follow:

■ Plan work to make sure it can be done safely.

■ Check machinery and equipment before use.

■ Communicate with family, workers and contractors to make sure that tasks and safeguards are understood.

■ Train persons to operate tractors and machinery and complete jobs safely.

■ Assess and control risks to children and persons with slower reaction times.

■ Do not allow children unsupervised access to the farmyard.