A Roscommon farmer is recovering after a farm accident in which slurry gas killed eight of his cattle.

The cattle died when they inhaled slurry gas while slurry was being agitated on his farm in Ballaghaderreen, Co Roscommon, last weekend.

The farmer, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Irish Farmers Journal that he had been involved in the incident but was recovering, and advised all farmers to exercise caution when agitating slurry.

“People should make sure that they use a fully insured contractor in case of an accident like this, and every contractor should have a gas meter with them,” the farmer said.

“It’s also very important that two people are around when slurry is being agitated.”

The farmer was finishing the cattle that were killed and estimates they were worth roughly €10,000.

“The loss of livestock is a huge issue, but the loss of life would have been a lot worse,” the farmer concluded.

Slurry safety

As the slurry spreading season starts in some parts of the country, farmers should be aware of the lethal effect slurry fumes can have.

Slurry gas is a mix of methane, carbon dioxide, ammonia and hydrogen sulphide.

When agitating slurry, farmers are advised to remove all livestock from sheds and make sure that no animal or person is in or near the building.

Farmers should also stay away from an agitation point for at least 30 minutes after starting agitation.

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Watch: slurry safety on the farm

'All our cattle will be removed from the tanks before we start agitating'