Farmers come into contact with a host of machinery on a daily basis. Poorly used or faulty machinery is a major cause of death and injury on farms.

Hands, hair and clothing can be caught by unguarded PTO shafts or other unguarded moving parts such as pulleys and belts. People can be injured by front-end loaders, falling from a moving tractor or being struck by its wheels.

Maura Canning, IFA Farm Family Chairperson, said “Everybody in farming knows somebody who has been injured or killed in an accident. Asking farmers to consider ‘Who Would Fill Your Boots?’ seems like the right thing to do given the consequences of taking constant risks when working. One day your luck could run out. One day it could be you.

#FarmSafetyWeek: how to work safely with machinery. pic.twitter.com/0rA9JPdvuh
— FJ Machinery (@FJMachinery) July 5, 2016

“This Farm Safety Week we are calling on farmers not to rely on luck when working. Agricultural machinery is dangerous and can rip off a limb or kill in seconds. Make sure you become familiar with the THINK SAFETY, FARM SAFELY campaign. Ensure equipment is switched off when making routine checks or maintenance and always take your time to think about what you are doing and what might go wrong as making a few simple checks could actually save a life – maybe your own!”