Joint initiative to help farmers come home safe

One of their key aims will be to encourage farmers to pause, stop and think before taking unnecessary risks in what has been described as one of the most dangerous occupations in Wales with 43 deaths in the last ten years.

Each of the organisations has signed an On-farm Health and Safety Charter for Wales, which was formally launched at a Wales Young Farmers Clubs (YFC) Farmhouse Breakfast event in Berriew. The charter is a joint initiative by National Farmers' Union (NFU) Cymru, Country Land and Business Association (CLA) Wales, Forestry Commission Wales, the Farm Crisis Network, Farmers’ Union of Wales, Hybu Cig Cymru, Lantra, NFU Mutual, Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RABI) Wales, the Welsh Government and Wales YFC.

Many of the deaths and serious injuries that occur on Welsh farms every year bring not only personal tragedy for the families and friends involved, but also have a huge impact on the future viability of the farm business.

Soon after becoming President of NFU Cymru, Ed Bailey called a ‘summit’ of interested parties in Wales to discuss on-farm health and safety. Since then further joint talks have taken place that have examined the unique challenges that those working in farming face on a daily basis. The charter can be viewed at on the Welsh Government website.

Speaking at the launch, the Deputy Agriculture Minister Alun Davies said,

“If farming in Wales is to continue to be recognised as a professional and modern industry it must urgently get to grips with this issue and reconsider its traditional attitudes to risk.

“Behaviour needs to change; increased awareness is vital as is training, so that
everyone in farming can look their families in the eye and make that promise to ‘Come home safe’.”

Ed Bailey said,

“As a farmer I am acutely conscious that farms are inherently dangerous places to work. We use larger and increasingly sophisticated pieces of machinery, we operate sometimes on difficult terrain; we handle stock that can be unpredictable and because of pressure of time or simply because of complacency, we take risks that can and do have awful consequences.”

*Subsidised training on health and safety is available to eligible farmers through Farming Connect. For further information please contact Menter a Busnes on 01970 636565.