Agriland is reminding farmers and contractors to exercise extra caution at the moment when working on difficult ground conditions.
A video – which is being circulated widely on social media – has shown just how tricky ground conditions currently are for tractor drivers, and the risks associated with operating agri-plant machinery on hilly ground.
A better-than-usual back end to the year has led to good grass growth in late September and into October; however, wet conditions last week caused many farmers to house stock, despite having high-grass covers, as grazing conditions became unworkable in many places.
With the dry weather making a return this week, farmers in many areas have taken mowers back out in an effort to utilise heavy covers of grass in the form of a cut of silage.
While a lot of ground is safe to travel, hilly ground which received slurry and grew heavy, grassy crops, is still very slippy and lifting grass on steep slopes is very tricky.
While winter fodder does have to be secured, farmers and contractors alike are being reminded to thoroughly assess ground conditions before going in with a machine and always ask the question: ‘Is it safe?‘
Some contractors tend to rake grass a few hours before lifting it to give the ground a chance to dry before the harvester and trailers (or alternatively, the round-baler) enters the field to gather the grass crop.
However, with the evenings closing in fast at this time of the year, heavy dew is falling in the late evening and overnight, leaving ground conditions very greasy.
With more unsettled conditions set to come in over the weekend, a return to the rain will likely bring the silage season for 2021 to a close, but the maize harvest will continue on into the coming week and onwards.
Regardless of what job is taking place on the farm, priority should always be given to protect the farmer and others who may be working on the farm.