I meet many dairy and suckler farmers through my travels with Agriland. As time goes on, the word ‘safety’ is one of the first words farmers are using when explaining why they do building work, in relation to calving facilities in particular.
With autumn calving not that far away, I thought the time was right to share some of the recent stories I have heard from farmers.
Calving facilities
On two suckler farms that I visited in recent weeks, safety was at the forefront of the farmers’ decisions to spend money on improving their calving facilities.
One farmer had been calving cows in an ‘old outhouse’, as I do call them. It was small, with a low roof, poor ventilation and little to no natural daylight coming in through the shed at all.
That farmer said that it was getting too risky to continue to calve cows in it, as all it would take is one cow in a tight space to lunge at him and his options of getting away unharmed were minimal.
At the time of talking to him, we were standing in his new suckler shed, with the whole design and layout revolved around safety.
Wake-up call
Another farmer I met on my travels said that he spent money on his new suckler shed after he witnessed his neighbour, who was helping him out with calving, being attacked by one of his cows.
The farmer told me that while it would be one thing to get hurt himself, he wouldn’t know what he’d do if his neighbour – who luckily got away unharmed – left injured, or worse, after coming in to help him.
Farm safety
More and more emphasis is continually being put on farm safety.
It was positive to see that farm fatalities were down more than 50% in 2021; however, the nine lives that were lost are still nine too many.
In particular, safety-awareness has been emphasised during the silage season. I feel now, it should be concentrated on the breeding season, when bulls are out running with herds of cows, and on the calving season.
The summertime can present itself with an opportunity to get jobs that are usually put on the long finger done – after the busy calving and breeding season is over and in between silage cuts.
So, over the coming weeks, as things around the farm settle down, take the time to assess the calving facilities on your farm and ask yourself: Are they safe and are they fit for purpose?
If not already there, especially with autumn calving around the corner, investing in a calving gate/headlocking barriers and incorporating a quick escape exit into calving pens, for example, will be worth every single penny invested.
Don’t stop there; if elsewhere on the farm there are safety hazards, make note of them and start making wrongs right. Think about your safety and the safety of others that are working/visiting your farm before anything else.