Tipperary farming: Tullamore Show puts emphasis on farm safety

For the sixth year running FRS, the HSA and FBD Insurance are bringing Farm Safety Live to the Tullamore Show.

The whole initiative behind Farm Safety Live is to get people to pledge to make a change on their farms after attending the event.

The event aims to bring something different every year.

The focus of this year’s live and interactive demonstrations is pledging to make changes on the farm, in the areas of vehicle safety, machinery safety, livestock safety and safety when working at heights.

FRS, FBD Insurance and the HSA along with our hosts the Tullamore Show, want people to make a pledge to change the way they approach machinery, change the way they handle their livestock, change how they deal with working at heights and commit to make changes and introduce safety measures on their farms.

Sadly, the farming sector is still coming out on top for having the most fatalities each year in Ireland.

Overall fatality statistics have not been improving, with most accidents occurring from machinery, tractors, vehicles and livestock, and with the young and elderly proving to be the main victims.

“Tractors, quads and other vehicles are involved in the vast majority of farm fatalities. If your tractor is not right, nothing is right. A good handbrake on your tractor is so important and I ask all farmers to pledge to ensure the handbrake is working and it is properly applied. Working together, we can make farming a safer business and protect ourselves and our loved ones,” said Pat Griffin of the HSA.

Jim Dockey of FRS Training said that Tullamore Show was a fantastic venue to promote farm safety with up to 60,000 farming families attending.

“We use practical demonstrations to show there is always a better way to do the task in hand safer. The safe handling of livestock commands excellent facilities.

We are demonstrating how these livestock safety designs can be incorporated into your farm facilities,” he said.

Mr Dockery said that FRS demonstrates how to handle quad bikes and farm machinery safely and correctly.

“We know farmers love to see thing in motion and visualise how they work, this sticks in the mind better and results in better understanding and more likely to make that pledge to take action and farm safer,” he aisd.

Ciaran Roche, risk manager, FBD Insurance, said that FBD Insurance were pleased to see the question of farm safety being acknowledged at Tullamore Show.

The continuing high numbers of serious and fatal accidents in the agricultural sector was cause for serious concern and now was the time to challenge ourselves to work more safely and to stop taking risks.

“All stakeholders need to work together as a farming community to break the cycle of risk-taking behaviour. If we can create a positive safety culture on farms, behavioural change and safer farming practices will follow,” he said.

Brenda Kiernan, chairperson of Tullamore Show said they were delighted to facilitate such a vital and significant agenda as part of the show programme.

It is heart breaking to realise the number of families effected each year by tragedies on farms,” she said.

For more information and videos on Farm Safety Live and to win tickets to the Tullamore Show on Sunday, August 11, visit www.facebook.com/

farmsafetylive