With the school holiday season soon to be begin, farmers have been urged to keep their children well away from busy work areas.

Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal, Andrew Turner, principal inspector for agriculture at the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said: “We have too many children being killed or injured on farms. We have had five children killed in the last five years and this could be stopped by compliance with the rules. The simple answer is that farms should be workplaces and children should be kept off farm.”

Turner, who was brought up in the farming industry, understands that this is a challenge for farming given that the farm is both the home and the workplace, something almost unique in British industry. But he maintains that farmers need to see their home and the workplace as separate entities.

“From my perspective, the impression given by the farming sector is that accidents are inevitable,” said Turner.

“But that should not be the case. Industries like construction have managed to go from being more hazardous than farming to a point where they are now four times less lethal.”

Currently, agriculture has a death rate of 8.44 per 100,000 people compared to 1.64 per 100,000 people in construction. However, 20 years ago construction was worse, but since then has implemented improved health and safety practices.

No surprises

Over his 29 years at the Health and Safety Executive, Turner has seen that the proportion of deaths and injuries on farm has stayed the same.

“I see the same accidents happening on farms today that I saw when I started. The only thing that changes is the name on the report. Sadly, the accidents that come across my desk are no surprises. The causes of accidents are known, the solutions are known. The challenge is to get farmers to do something about it.”

Change

He said that one of the simplest things a farmer can do is apply the handbrake and turn the engine off on their tractor when they get out of the cab.

“You are most likely to be run over by your own machine if you leave the cab without applying the handbrake. We would have 20% fewer deaths on farms if all machinery was stopped properly before leaving the cab. This includes ensuring the PTO has been completely stopped too,” he said.

He also maintained that cattle farmers need to be thinking about their handling facilities. In the last five years, 29 UK farmers have died in cattle-related accidents. Many of these accidents could have been avoided with suitable handling facilities, properly used.

Inspections

At a HSE inspection, Turner said that the farmer will be assessed on how they are managing key risks on farm. These will normally include:

  • Vehicles and machines.
  • Falls from height and falling objects.
  • Safety of children.
  • Overhead power lines.
  • Cattle handling.
  • Drowning and asphyxiation.
  • Asbestos.
  • Moving loads by hand.
  • Chest problems and lung disease.
  • Pesticides.
  • Chainsaws.
  • Electrical systems.
  • If HSE deem these risks are not being managed adequately then they will write to the farmer after the inspection, and seek to recover the inspection cost. Where no issues are identified, there is no charge.

    Significant breaches will see an improvement notice given with a specified period in which to remedy the problem. In some cases, the use of a piece of equipment or an activity may be prohibited by means of a prohibition notice.

    If the cost of the inspection is recovered then it will be charged at £154/hour and cover the full cost of an inspector, their time and associated costs of conducting the inspection.

    This can vary considerably, depending on the size of the farm and the nature of the issues uncovered, but will normally not be less than one to two hours.

    NI child safety campaign

    The chief executive of the HSE in NI, Robert Kidd, has also urged farming families to take extra care with child safety this summer.

    “I am making a personal plea to all farm families to make child farm safety a priority, particularly at this busy time with longer evenings and with schools winding down for the summer. Please talk about safety as a family and put in place simple, practical, measures to make sure your children are safe at all times,” he said.

    Materials and guidance around child safety are available on the HSENI website.

    A checklist published by the HSENI reminds parents to have a safe and secure play area for young children; keep children under 13 out of tractors, secure gates and stacked materials; ensure a slurry lagoon is properly fenced; keep children well away when mixing slurry; ensure chemicals are locked in a secure store; and maintain protective guards on machinery.

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