One of the worst things that can happen to any farming family or to the farm is to have someone killed or seriously injured while working or visiting. A few weeks ago, Billy Cronin of Dairygold and John Maher of Teagasc visited me. We sat around the kitchen table to discuss the forthcoming Farm Safety Day. Under the joint programme that Teagasc runs in partnership with milk processors around the country, they aim to ensure a consistent delivery of relevant messages to all Dairygold suppliers that will ensure the long-term sustainability of Dairygold Co-op and its milk suppliers. One of the goals is to deliver an industry initiative focused on the education of Dairygold milk suppliers. This specific initiative was designed to keep farmers and their families safe.

The men outlined their plans for the “Making the Farm a Safer Place” day that would be held in Mallow Racecourse. They asked if I would chair the Family Safety Forum at midday. To be honest anything that focuses the mind on farm safety at home and on farms is a number one priority for me.

I am saddened that we are not getting the figures down. All too often I sit around the staff room table in school with another farm accident as the topic of conversation. I am truly ashamed of our lovely profession of farming when this happens. We are all responsible, and until we face up to our collective responsibility and encourage each other the situation will not improve. Of course, there will always be accidents but the current level of farm deaths and accidents is just not acceptable.

One of the questions I posed to the audience on the day was: “if you got a phone call to say there were three ten-year-old boys exploring your farm, could you be confident that they would come to no harm?”

A sea of solemn faces looked back at me giving nothing away. I suspect if the farmer knew they were coming, things might be secure. If children wandered in, it might be a different story. Would the keys be out of the machines? Would the loader prongs be safely pointed in to a wall and down? Would dairy detergents be locked up? You know all the questions.

We all have stories of near misses and they very often include children. It is an opportune time to re-focus on farm safety. Schools are all finishing up for the summer and children and teenagers are full of energy to explore farmyards and to get stuck into helping on the farm.

Focusing on the younger children, a countrywide poster competition was launched for fifth and sixth class.

Alma Jordan of Agri Kids spoke to the children outlining some of the dangers on the farm. Alma was educating them about slurry and she had a bottle of anomalous looking liquid. She shook it hard and showed them how the gas would escape when the slurry was agitated. There was one particular boy who was obviously very familiar with the farm and it was plain to see that he loved it. He could answer all Alma’s questions.

Alma asked the children where they would be if slurry was being agitated. “In the tractor,” he shouted with pride.

These young farmers are too precious to lose and a job like agitating slurry is no place for a twelve-year-old. Agri Kids was born when Alma realised the dangers that were on farms. She decided to educate through books and the business is growing through workshops that she runs throughout the country. She wants children to become the new farm safety ambassadors. Visit http://www.agrikids.ie.

Alma also addressed the forum on keeping children safe on the farm. Other speakers on the day were Anna Geary, broadcaster, life coach, columnist and former Cork camogie player. Anna focused on her experiences of support while playing with the Cork team and contrasted it with the isolation of being self-employed. She drew parallels with farming lives.

Treasa Moher, from Mitchelstown, continued the theme, focusing on the ways that she and her husband, Sean, keep their two young children safe on the farm. In 2016, they were milk quality award winners and represented Dairygold Co-Op in the NDC Milk Quality Competition. Derrie Dillon of Macra na Feirme outlined Macra’s initiatives in the area.

LIVES SAVED

There is no doubt in my mind that lives will be saved by last Friday’s initiative. There were over 150 farmers in front of me. They were engaged and attentive. They had already done the circuit of speakers outside at the various demonstration stands including An Garda Síochána, the Road Safety Authority, the Health and Safety Authority, Zurich Insurance Ireland, Agri Aware, Teagasc and others all focusing on how to farm safely.

I asked if it should be mandatory to have a secure play area for young children. Maybe it is something the Department of Agriculture should consider. I also asked why it is not compulsory to have roll bars on quads.

It is important to listen to our young educated farmers and incorporate their knowledge with our experience of farming. Together we can improve the statistics. The HSA website tells us that the people most at risk are our young children and older farmers. However, it can be difficult to tell granny or grandad to back off, especially if they still own the farm. But having the conversation often around the kitchen table makes it a live issue.

Let’s renew our focus on farm safety and focus on keeping all generations safe. To quote an old TV favourite of mine, Hill Street Blues: “Let’s be careful out there.”