A close call at home with an early autumn calving cow brought the reality of safety on farms quickly to mind. A third calver that calved unassisted outside, and had never shown signs of aggression before became extremely dangerous, making handling the new born calf a near impossible task, and was one of the closest calls to a serious farm accident that I’ve had in memory.

That’s just the unpredictability of farming, and working with livestock in particular. The cow has marked her card, and will not be going back in-calf again. Good facilities go some way towards lessening the risk on farm, but eliminating the risk, this case the cow, and being more vigilant in the future, will help eliminate it. Unfortunately, farming is still the most dangerous profession in Ireland, accounting for 16 of the 41 workplace deaths in 2023. There are inherent risks every day you go outside the front door, but where there are risks, there are steps you can take to reduce them.

Tough times

It’s tough to make investments on farms right now with input prices still high while output process has slackened. What’s even tougher is dealing with a fatal farm accident, or the aftermath of a serious injury to a person. While I often point out the failings in TAMS III, the Farm Safety scheme within it is fantastic, and if you haven’t looked at the eligible items in it already, I would urge you to do so and avail of the 60% grant rate to improve the safety on your farm.

These tough times can also seriously affect the mental health of farmers. Stress is an ever-present reality in farming, especially where we have a shortage in grass, low yields in crops and difficult weather conditions like we have had for nearly the last 12 months. It’s as important to look after your own head, which is the engine of the farm, as it is everything else. Workload is easing on farms with the main bulk of summer work completed, so now might be an ideal time to get away from the yard for a mental break.