Silence in the office – though the keyboards gather dust. We’re there in body, but our minds are running laps. Silence at the feed-face, broken only by the clinking of the fork and the lull of a dozen mouths chewing. Who knew, ignorance can sometimes be bliss.

In a house not far away, there is silence. There’s an emptiness too - something amiss. Its resident’s thoughts, the roots of ours.

One resident wasn’t home yesterday, nor won’t be.

I suspect that my previously untoward attitude towards safety was shared by many. It’s almost shameful to admit that a piece supporting the words “farm safety” or “farm accident” would’ve seldom attracted my attention. Farming was about output, profit, performance, yields – numbers, numbers, numbers. The blinkers were on. And yet, I know that this psyche wasn’t just my own.

An ignorance has filtered in at farm level. An ignorance that needs eradicating - here comes the cliché - before it’s too late.

Define “too late”?

Better yet, ask the recently bereaved family to define it.

A mother’s warm reassurance; a wife’s embrace; a friend’s company – all taken for granted; all, no more.

At home, we know our problem animals. Certain contrary cows are kept in the herd because of their numbers. It’s a flawed philosophy perhaps, but an argument for another day. These are the animals around which the risk is arguably lowest. Guards are up; necessary measures are taken.

It is at our strongest when we are most vulnerable. With suckler cows we are consistently toying with biological instincts developed over thousands of evolutionary years. Each cow, quiet or otherwise, is wired the same; to act upon a perceived threat to her offspring. It is the perception of “threat” that is different. Sometimes, she sees something that we don’t.

My approach to safety will change. It took news of a life lost in the area to do so – an indication of my previous greenness.

For now there remains silence. Reflecting on risks taken in the past, trying to fathom what those close may be going through - all else pales into insignificance.

In an industry beginning to kick-on, those at the top realise the dangers. This is evident from the initiatives and adverts we are exposed to on a weekly basis.

They needn’t be pages flicked or channels changed anymore.

Ask, “what would be 'too late' for me?”