The lock-down system is par for the course for all marts in the future, Ciaran Roche, risk manager with FBD, told those at the 42nd annual ICOS conference on Friday.

Lock down has come into operation in a number of marts around the country over the last number of months - where farmers have less access to pens and lairages in marts for safety reasons.

Roche said in the last 12 months there has been a number of significant injuries to farmers and sadly one fatality at marts.

"The improvement of safety management systems is essential to running a safe mart and to its longevity. The lock-down system is par for the course for marts.

"Where lock down has been implemented, it has gone down well. The key thing here is the safety of the public and employees and that cannot be left to chance," he said.

Trying to change the culture and behaviour in marts is another issue, Roche said. "It takes a while to embed."

Demographic

Roche also said the demographic of farmers is an issue.

"With older farmers there is a mobility issue, they can't get out of the way quite as quick and often they don't recover [from an accident] as quick as a young farmer."

Fences

Animals are getting bigger and wilder, Roche said, and fences are going up and up in marts.

Standard railings at marts should be at least 1.8m (six foot) when it comes to pens and races and at least 2.1m for the mart ring, he outlined.

"These are the basic concepts to be expected.

"How we manage livestock in marts needs to be reviewed," he said.

Question for mart managers

Roche said that mart managers and management should ask themselves: are we prepared to implement and enforce radical change so as to reverse the upward trend in the number and severity of serious accidents in marts?

Read more

Concern that Truly Grass Fed will erode value for dairy farmers - Jordan

Listen: mart safety measures to spread as insurance costs continue to soar