Over the last ten years (between 2011 and 2020) 21 children have lost their lives on Irish farms. These are horrific statistics and dreadful tragedies for the families involved.
It is time to make a change; time to say stop – stop taking chances, stop the old habits and stop condoning bad practice.
With Farm Safety Week taking place, now is the time for all of us farmers, and indeed, all those involved in agriculture, to take the time to rethink our attitudes to the risks on our farms – especially in relation to the safety of children.
Keeping children safe from machinery
While the vast majority of farms are also family homes; farms and farmyards are not playgrounds. Farms and farmyards have many risks and dangers for children.
Children need to be kept under close supervision at all times. Over 80% of all incidents that resulted in the death of a child in the last ten years have involved either a farm vehicle or machinery.
It is important that children are never allowed around a farmyard without a responsible adult with them. This means not having children in tractors. Children do not see the dangers that are present, and do not understand that the operators of large farm vehicles and machinery are unlikely to be able to see them approaching.
Parents and family members should think very carefully about taking pictures of children around farm vehicles and machinery and posting them on social media. It gives the wrong impression that this may somehow be a safe place for a child to be. It is not appropriate to show pictures of children around farm machinery at any time. This applies to publishers and media organisations too.
Children do not understand the risks with machinery; just because a machine is not operating, does not mean that it is safe.
It must become socially unacceptable to have children in the vicinity of machinery. It is only by keeping children away from machinery at all times, that the number of serious and fatal accidents involving children will be reduced.
Everyone has a role to play in reducing the number of serious and fatal incidents involving children on Irish farms. We all have a responsibility to ensure safe practices are adhered to at all times.
However, the overall responsibility for securing the safety and health of children and young people on farms rests with you, as the farmer. A secure and safe play area for young children should be provided.
Child farm-safety information
You might at this stage be thinking: ‘Where do I get information and advice in relation to keeping children safe on my farm?’
There is a huge amount of information available. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) website, along with the Health and Safety Authority’s and Teagasc’s websites all have information in relation to child safety on farms.
There is information suitable for both adults and children: books for adults to read with children, aimed to teach children the dangers that may be present on farms, and videos for adults and children to watch together, to highlight potential dangers that may be present.
The websites also give information in relation to your legal responsibilities around keeping children safe, and what young people can do on your farms.
Teenagers
For older children (over 14-years-old) who are looking to start working with tractors on farms, it is important that they should be correctly trained how to drive a tractor.
They should receive formal training on tractor driving. It is not appropriate to let young people start to drive tractors unless they have been formally trained by a competent training organisation, i.e. FRS run formal tractor driver training courses for young people.
Young people starting out driving tractors need to be taught and understand the risks associated with driving a tractor and how to handle both the tractor and any machinery attached to it. Young people should start on smaller tractors and in a safe environment.
Putting a young person directly on to a powerful tractor is looking for an incident to occur.
Remember, as the farm owner you are responsible for ensuring that anyone operating a tractor or machine has been correctly and fully trained in the operation of that tractor and machine, and for ensuring that the operator is capable of safely using the machine.
During this summer period, it is worthwhile remembering the government’s Be Summer Ready campaign. This campaign has a lot of useful advice about protect yourself and your family during the summer period.
Remember, farm safety must be thought about every morning, before you go out into the yard. You should always plan your work. This means that you should stop and think: ‘How am I going to do this job and do I have everything I need?’
It does not cost anything and only takes a few minutes. It does, however, require conscious reflection on farm safety, every single day, and before every single job is tackled. This way not only do you protect yourself, but you protect any children and other people who enter your farm.
