A new safety campaign aimed at older farmers has been launched by DAERA, the Health and Safety Executive for NI (HSENI) and the Farm Safety Partnership.

Launched at CAFRE Greenmount last Thursday, the new initiative includes a series of television and radio ads targeted at farmers aged 60 and above.

Speaking at the launch event, David Lowe from the HSENI said the main causes of accidents on farm remain those that come under the SAFE acronym of Slurry, Animals, Falls and Equipment. That message around stopping and thinking SAFE has been the main focus of a Farm Safety Partnership campaign since 2013-2014.

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However, other trends are coming through, said Lowe, who pointed out that between 2014 and 2024 there have been 40 lives lost on NI farms and two-thirds of all these fatalities have been farmers over 60.

“Farmer experience and knowledge does increase over the years, but so does the level of risk – you have lower mobility, strength and reactions. What we are saying is know your limitations. Small changes in how you work can make the biggest difference,” he said.

Some examples include taking a tractor or pickup into the field when checking cattle, rather than going on foot. Also, always carry a mobile phone, consider upgrading facilities such as calving gates and instead of a quad, switch to a utility terrain vehicle.

“It’s about adapting, not stopping – making those simple changes to keep on farming – hence the strapline, ‘Farm wiser to farm longer’,” said Lowe.

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The launch event also heard from Liam McCarthy, ABP Food Group, who said the company had become actively involved in communicating messages around farm safety after the tragic deaths of three members of the Spence family in a slurry accident in 2012.

Despite attending numerous meetings and events on farm safety ever since, he recounted how easy it can be for us all to take unnecessary risks.

In his own situation it was a beef heifer which had calved in a pen on an out-farm. Rather than go home for help or go and get his phone, he got into the pen, lifted the calf’s leg and sprayed its navel. Thankfully the heifer didn’t react.

“I got away with it. Five days later I had a grandson born. I attend meeting after meeting about farm safety, but yet that was the sort of silly thing we all are in danger of reverting back to,” he said.