Funding of 1.18 million has been announced by Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon to support 46 farm safety, health and wellbeing projects.
The aim of the projects is to help address farming’s poor safety record while also supporting farmer health and wellbeing.
The funding comes as a result of the open call for farm safety, health and wellbeing projects which was open to applications earlier this year which saw a high volume of applications.
The projects are being funded from the Department’s dedicated farm safety budget.
Successful projects under the call cover one or more of the following themes:
Farm safety.Farmers’ physical health.Farmers’ mental health and wellbeing.Farmers’ physical and mental health checks.Vision checks.Supporting older farmers.Tractor driving safety awareness training for children 14 years of age and older.Chainsaw training for farmers.Working at height for farmers.“The farmer physical and mental health checks have proven to be very successful over the past two years with over 5,700 farmer health checks completed since August 2024. This year, to ensure farmers maximise the benefits of their health checks, I am funding behaviour change follow-up conversations facilitated by health professionals,” the Minister commented.
“Where appropriate, farmers who avail of health checks will be offered tailored follow-up supports to encourage them to take the appropriate steps to protect their health.”
“With over 400 children aged 14 years of age and older having completed tractor driving safety awareness training, I am pleased with the success of the open calls in 2024 and 2025 in educating young people involved in farming about the risks associated with tractors and machinery and best practices when it comes to the safe operation of tractors and machinery.
“Also, with livestock second only to tractors and machinery when it comes to fatal incidents on farms, the livestock handling training delivered to over 400 farmers in 2025 will make an important contribution to safety when working with livestock,” he said.
More information and a list of the funded projects can be found on the Department's website here.
Funding of 1.18 million has been announced by Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon to support 46 farm safety, health and wellbeing projects.
The aim of the projects is to help address farming’s poor safety record while also supporting farmer health and wellbeing.
The funding comes as a result of the open call for farm safety, health and wellbeing projects which was open to applications earlier this year which saw a high volume of applications.
The projects are being funded from the Department’s dedicated farm safety budget.
Successful projects under the call cover one or more of the following themes:
Farm safety.Farmers’ physical health.Farmers’ mental health and wellbeing.Farmers’ physical and mental health checks.Vision checks.Supporting older farmers.Tractor driving safety awareness training for children 14 years of age and older.Chainsaw training for farmers.Working at height for farmers.“The farmer physical and mental health checks have proven to be very successful over the past two years with over 5,700 farmer health checks completed since August 2024. This year, to ensure farmers maximise the benefits of their health checks, I am funding behaviour change follow-up conversations facilitated by health professionals,” the Minister commented.
“Where appropriate, farmers who avail of health checks will be offered tailored follow-up supports to encourage them to take the appropriate steps to protect their health.”
“With over 400 children aged 14 years of age and older having completed tractor driving safety awareness training, I am pleased with the success of the open calls in 2024 and 2025 in educating young people involved in farming about the risks associated with tractors and machinery and best practices when it comes to the safe operation of tractors and machinery.
“Also, with livestock second only to tractors and machinery when it comes to fatal incidents on farms, the livestock handling training delivered to over 400 farmers in 2025 will make an important contribution to safety when working with livestock,” he said.
More information and a list of the funded projects can be found on the Department's website here.
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