There was a huge emphasis on farmers’ mental and physical health as well as farm safety at the Teagasc BEEF2022 Open Day at Grange, Co. Meath, last Tuesday (July 5).
One of the stands on the day featured a farm accident re-enactment to show the event attendees just how quickly an accident or fatality can happen on a farm.
In the re-enactment, a teenager is standing near a bale trailer, talking on his mobile phone to a friend when his father shouts at him to fetch a ratchet strap.
The boy goes to the back of the trailer and the father asks the loading shovel operator to put an extra bale on the trailer to avoid returning to the field.
In the simulation, it is evident the farmer is under pressure to get the bales of silage home before the rain arrives.
When loading the bale onto the trailer, the loading shovel operator accidentally knocks a bale on the farmer’s son who is standing to the rear of the trailer. The trailer driver pulls off and the farmers son is then found lying, unresponsive, underneath the bale by the farmer and his wife.
Farm safety this July
A speaker at the stand reminded farmers that July is statistically the most lethal month on Irish farms.
It was also outlined that the simulation is not based on any particular farm accident, but was a demonstration to show how quickly a fatality can happen.
Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine with responsibility for Research and Development, Farm Safety and New Market Development, Martin Heydon, visited the demonstration before attending the launch of new resources aiming to improve physical and mental health among farmers.
Minister Heydon commented: “We have had an unacceptably high level of farm fatalities. The farm has been the most dangerous workplace in all of Ireland.
“I’m a firm believer that we need some hard-hitting messaging to farmers.
“What was very relatable to me was the farmer rushing to get silage in, the son on the phone distracted, the farmer taking a shortcut.
“No one that’s ever involved in a farm accident ever thinks it will happen to them, and farmers must realise that in the blink of an eye, something can happen that will have an impact on them for the rest of their lives.”