Modern farming practices are centred on the use of machinery and equipment that are powerful and highly sophisticated.
They also require an in-depth knowledge and experience on the part of operators in order to secure the highest levels of performance from them.
All of this was highlighted, yet again, courtesy of the recent Farm Safety Week initiative.
And hats off to everyone involved in communicating such relevant health and safety priorities to farmers, farm workers and contractors.
But, is it not time to take all of this to the next level?
Take tractors as a case in point. The models available today are comparable to Formula One racing cars, relative to those that were coming on to the market 10 years ago.
All of this horsepower brings with it a very obvious health and safety risk. Moreover, gone are the days when a tractor engine could be heard from some distance away. Today’s models are super sleek, super quick and many are super silent.
As a consequence, young children and even older adults may not be aware of a tractor coming at them from inside a building for all of the reasons referenced above.
Currently, young teenagers are allowed to drive tractors, within the confines of their own farms, provided they have completed a recognised training course.
But surely there is a need for farmers to secure ongoing – and formal education opportunities – on how to best manage and operate machinery throughout their careers.
Within other professions this is called continuing professional development (CPD). And one could also argue that a failure to undertake this commitment would have direct consequences for farmers in terms of the way their run their businesses.
Linking CPD to the attainment of insurance could be one possible direction of travel. Another option would be to link the attainment of CPD validation to the securing of farm support monies.
Modern farming practices
Meanwhile, farming continues to ‘enjoy’ the dubious accolade of being the most dangerous profession that can be followed in the UK and Ireland today.
Years of advice programmes and communications-based initiatives have failed to really move the dial, where farm safety standards are concerned.
Previously, construction was Ireland’s most dangerous industry to work within. This situation changed when previous governments decided to crack down hard on the abuses taking place within that sector.
Enhanced rates of inspection and follow-up prosecutions, when and where required, have acted to significantly improve health and safety standards on building sites.
Everyone agrees that one farm accident is one too many.
All it takes is for farmers and farm workers to take the one extra minute required to think through the health and safety implications of every job they are about to start.
Nobody can be so busy that taking such a small amount of time out of one’s working day cannot be justified.
