Farm accidents
Even though 13 farmers have already lost their lives in farm accidents this year, it appears that the farm safety message is still struggling to get through.
A Macra na Ferime survey of young farmers last week found that almost 81pc of young farmers surveyed had completed a farm safety risk assessment document, but the remaining 19pc still had not.
The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 requires all farmers to prepare and implement a safety statement on their farms.
Almost 40pc of those surveyed who have completed the form have failed to review it in the past 12 months, while 22.5pc said they didn't know where the document was now.
When asked if they believed that their farm was safer because of having a safety statement in place, 58pc of young farmers surveyed said it was, while 42pc said the farm was not safer because of it.
When asked if every PTO shaft on their farm had a guard fitted, only 57.3pc said every shaft was protected by a working and safe guard.
A further 31.7pc said all their machines had a guard fitted but some were not working properly and were therefore unsafe.
The remaining 11pc of farmers surveyed said that recently bought machines had working guards but some older machines still did not have guards fitted.
Tractors and machinery are the main cause of farm accidents in Ireland, according to the Health and Safety Authority (HSA), with elderly farmers and children at particular risk.
Crushed
Being entangled in PTO, crushed under a machine part, caught in a machine mechanism, crushed between vehicles and struck by a machine object are the main causes of deaths with farm machinery.
PTO shafts were responsible for 30pc of machinery fatalities between 2000 and 2010 but were also responsible for horrific injuries to those farmers who survived the experience.
Just over 35pc of those surveyed had been subject to a health and safety inspection on their farm, while the remaining 65pc had never been inspected.
Macra president Alan Jagoe acknowledged that there was still work to be done on farms to ensure that all safety hazards were addressed but maintained that young farmers were better than the previous generation when it came to safety awareness.
He added that the majority of farm fatalities in 2012 had involved farmers over the age of 55 and a large number involved farmers over 65.
Pat Griffin, senior agriculture inspector with the HAS, has warned that the weather conditions of this summer could lead to a higher risk of accidents.
"With such poor ground conditions across most parts of the country the risks from tractors and machinery getting stuck, breaking down, sliding or even overturning is greatly increased," he warned.
"Farmers should plan their work, consider these increased risks and have plans in place to put things right."
The Macra survey was conducted among 283 young farmers at the FBD Young Farmer of the Year Awards, which took place over the weekend and will conclude tonight with the announcement of the winner.
- Caitriona Murphy
Source: irishindependent