Implications and Consequences of Poor Farm Safety

Abstract

The implications and consequences of poor farm safety and investigate how we change things.

Section 1: Introduction……………………………………………………………………………….Page 1

Section 2: Old Farmers……………………………………………………………….Page 1 and 2

Section 3: Teenagers and young people……………………………………………………………………………............Page 2

Section 4: Summary……………………………………………………………………………………Page 3

Section 5: Methods of farm safety……………………………………………..Page 3

List of Tables

Pie Chart showing Main causes of deaths in Agriculture and Forestry over the last 10 years 2011-2020……………………………………………Page 1.

Table showing the age of farm owners…………………………………..Page 2.

An Introduction to Farm Safety

I personally come from a rural small farm background and recently have spent 2 years in the construction Industry be it grading with an excavator, fixing an electric fence or starring into the mixer engulfed by its trance, all my years on I spent on this farm. I would have to say I was never thought farm safety or what to do or not It is just assumed that its common sense and you should know these things, but Health and safety is now the bread and butter of the construction Industry, a Hymn even praying to the 5:1 ratio and a milky cup of tea. But why is that that in Construction it is an unspoken rule but in Farming it is a distant thought?

HSA Authority 1

Farming is one the oldest professions that dates back century’s and it was the foundation of farming today but it’s not a steady and structurally sound foundation, Tradition and the rules of the land and the “This how my father did it when he your age” has ruined the sector in my opinion, just because you’re older relative smashed rock with a pickaxe without any PPE doesn’t mean that you or your children have to it do it either. Workers pride has ruined both farming and the construction sector, you see and hear people saying that there not going to wear gloves cos or the proper PPE and go into jobs and tasks with the outdated mindset that the hardest way and the most practical is the right way, the way the forefathers did it. I have seen people blinded by their pride. Technology was made for a reason, there is no shame in using it if it helps you with, you are work or family life and social life. The older generations would triumph with the use of new farm technology. It would be safer and more efficient.

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“Third of farmers are over retirement age, while the number of young farmers declines”. This itself is sight, there are too few young people coming into farming and with old comes ignorance and are less likely to change their ways. Farmers over the age of 55 make up 40% of related farm injuries and deaths in the last decade (HSA Health and safety authority 2020). They become complacent and after spending years on their farm, the notion that plagues old farmers is that they are safe at home reinforce this notion by remembering that no accident or injury has belittled them so they think that it will be someone else and not them. That is in my opinion is the reason why so many old farmers are left to these gruesome farm accidents.

cso statistics 1

Young people and children sadly enough account to the overall percentage of farm related deaths. Teenagers young farmers like myself contribute to the death toll. I’ve seen an article about a “14-year-old was travelling in a tractor that rolled off the edge of a hillside track on lands at Mooghna, Miltown Malbay, in north Co Clare” There are even fears that more young people will be involved in farming accidents, schools are closed but farming is isn’t. More young people are out and about farming. This defiantly isn’t the first time something like this happened. “Cork senator Tim Lombard has called for road safety laws to be updated to prioritise the safety of all farm workers and the wider community.

Commenting, senator Lombard said:

"We have a situation in this country where 16-year-olds can do a theory test and then drive a tractor that can do 50kph with a load of more than 20t behind it." You turn a blind eye to it, myself and my father let my younger brothers drive and they are 15 and 12 years old but we think it is not a car, there is no traffic or checkpoints and even when I was there age, I was the same. I have had my own brush with death when I was driving a Loading Shovel, I went up a ramp and the machine tipped but came back to earth, I have had no previous training on the machine it was just assumed that I knew how to drive it. I could have been one of them statistics, like the other young teens and adults who met their fate to a machine that they thought they control. There must be more regulations on young people operating such heavy machinery and mandatory training must be given.

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In summary and after looking at the graphs and articles, changes must be made. Older Farmers must take things slow and avoid heavy lifting and machinery because their reaction speed has been graded over the years and young people need to be more responsible and take things slow. “Farmers and farm workers suffer from increased rates of respiratory diseases, noise-induced hearing loss, skin disorders, certain cancers, chemical toxicity, and heat-related illnesses. There are precautions that can be taken to minimize or eliminate these potential hazards. “This is serious and training and education in Farm health and safety must be a big priority. But there also some ways we can reduce accidents by not having children and young teens operate machinery, plan out a safe way of completing tasks, find a safe approach to using tools, power tools, machinery and always inspect machinery each morning by doing a safety check and do not carry more than the passenger limit on any machinery and when driving take a slow and a safe approach. Always carry out a risk assessment on anything you plan on doing. Do not let children be left unattended or play on a farmyard, if you need help with something that is dangerous always ask a second opinion or help (Teagasc 2020) Lets make sure that no more farmers become a grizzly statistic. Changes must be made and by following the followings steps, accidents and deaths can be minimized. Farming is one of Irelands core industries. The people who lost their lives were not statistics, they were brothers, sisters’ sons and daughters, fathers and mothers. They were people like you and me. Changes must be made so that it becomes the Hymn of very local mart. Parents, educational systems and the government must play their part to ensure a safe work environment by educating and providing advice and precautions.