Livestock causing most farm deaths in NI

Farm accidents involving livestock have been responsible for three out of the seven fatalities on NI farms so far this year, figures from the Health and Safety Executive for NI (HSENI) confirm.

The seven fatal farm accidents that have occurred in NI to date in 2018 are already equal to the total number seen during the full calendar year in both 2017 and 2016.

HSENI principal inspector Malcolm Downey told the Irish Farmers Journal that cows and heifers at calving, as well as bulls at any time of the year, remain the main risk to farmers.

“Older farmers are particularly at risk as they often aren’t as agile as they used to be and can’t get out of the way quickly enough if something goes wrong,” he said.

Figures from HSENI show that the four other farm deaths in NI so far this year came from two incidents where the victim was crushed by machinery, one fatal accident was the result of a fall from a height and one was due to a falling tree.

Machinery

Downey said that poorly maintained handbrakes is a common issue on many farms, especially in older machinery which is used less often and subsequently receives less maintenance than the main tractor on the farm.

He pointed out that mild weather during autumn reduced the risk of accidents from slurry gas, as there was less pressure on farmers to get slurry out and there were fewer cattle in sheds when slurry was being mixed.

“If cattle are in sheds and they start to drop because of gas, a farmer’s natural reaction is to run in to help – which puts them in danger. This problem wasn’t as common this year, but farmers have to be conscious of it for spring,” Downey said.

Inspections

HSENI is planning to carry out 800 health and safety inspections on NI farms this year, with most of these being unannounced visits.

Downey said that the primary aim of the inspections is to advise farmers on improving farm safety.

However, HSENI inspectors do have the authority to enforce prohibition notices to stop something being used or done until a serious safety issue is rectified.

“That’s not that common thankfully, although most people do appreciate that we are not trying to be difficult and we are just trying to stop someone getting hurt,” Downey said.

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