Over the coming weeks farmers and contractors throughout Ireland will be stressing every sinew to get slurry mixed and out on to ground.
Given current ground conditions, I sense that we will see umbilical systems used at a level never witnessed before in this country.
Slurry is one of the most valuable inputs available to local agriculture.
At a very fundamental level, it is now recognised as one of the most important fertiliser sources that can be spread on grassland and crops.
However, it is also one of the most toxic and dangerous substances that farmers and contractors deal with on a regular basis.
One whiff of the hydrogen sulphide gas emitted by slurry as it is mixed is enough to kill an average person or animal.
Some people think they will smell danger in time. This is not the case. Hydrogen sulphide is odourless at toxic levels. Moreover, it can cause death or serious injury at very low concentrations in the air.
Slurry spreading
Moving slurry entails the use of heavy machinery, the management of which comes with a very significant health warning.
The need to have all slurry equipment serviced and maintained to the required standard prior to use is an obvious priority for farmers and contractors.
But in the rush to get a job started, this can sometimes be overlooked.
In addition, young children are attracted to large, shiny items of machinery in the same way that insects are drawn to the pollen within a flower.
It only takes a second for an accident to happen.
Each step in the slurry management chain involves an element of risk or danger. Tractor and slurry tanker combos can easily overturn, especially when turning right. So operator care is required at all times.
Road safety
Another accident risk is that of leaving slurry or manure residues to lie on roads. Passing traffic is exposed to the risk of skidding and the ensuing consequences that an incident of this nature can pose.
Most accidents are caused by people rushing jobs and not planning a project properly. Taking that extra second to think through the challenge at hand can make all the difference.
The most precious resource within a farming business is the health and safety of the people managing it.
Many farmers proclaim that they don’t gamble.
But if these same people take risks or cut corners when working with slurry, machinery and livestock, then they are actually gambling with the most important asset belonging to them – their own lives.