Stay safe on farm as busy season arrives
GALWAY farm families have been asked this week to keep children away from farmyards and tractors as the busy Summer silage season gets into full swing.
According to Teagasc, 21 children lost their lives in Irish farming accidents between 2010 and 2020 – most of them involving tractors or machinery.
Climbing on bales, access to slurry pits or tanks, and farm animals also feature on the Teagasc ‘red light’ list for farm dangers – the farm advisory body also suggest the provision of a safe play area as well as ongoing farm supervision.
Galway IFA Rural Development Representative, Peter Gohery – himself an amputee after a farm accident – said that the golden rule with young children was not to ‘give them spins’ on the tractor and to keep them away from the farmyards.
“This is a hugely busy time in the farming year involving tractors and heavy machinery and of course children are naturally drawn to this kind of activity.
“But the last thing we want is for any family to go through the trauma of seeing one of their children killed or seriously injured on the farm. That is absolute devastation for any family,” he said.
He added that he would never forget the story of a man who at the last second say his two-year-old grandchild between the front and back wheel of his tractor, just before take-off - thankfully he spotted him, but he still spoke of flashbacks, following that near-thing.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.