A new farm safety campaign has been launched by the IFA to raise awareness of the dangers of working on farms and encourage farmers to always think safety first.

SAVE LIVES is a acronym of safety messages to remind farmers to think safety when farming.

The safety messages are carried throughout the 2015 IFA Calendar, which was launched this week, as well as on new ‘SAVE LIVES’ pens, which will be distributed through IFA meetings and events over the coming months in order to keep safety at the front of minds. A number of events and initiatives as part of the SAVE LIVES campaign are planned for the year ahead.

IFA President Eddie Downey said the SAVE LIFES campaign hope to encourage farmers to change their working practices, be more responsive to the potential dangers and take preventative action to reduce the risks.

He said: “I am asking all farm families to take action today to make their farms a safer place to work. The best way to reduce accidents and fatalities is to update your Farm Safety statement, this will help you identify the risks and to put in place appropriate control measures”, said Mr. Downey.

Maura Canning, IFA Farm Family & Social Affairs Chairwoman said that farm safety must be the top priority on Irish farms. Too many of the accidents taking place could be avoided if farmers adhered to safer working practices.

Downey added that he "strongly believes that the decision by the Health and Safety Authority to threaten farmers with prosecution is counterproductive to improving Ireland’s farm safety record.”