Two new annual farm safety questions are set to be added to the national farm survey (NFS).

It comes after the Farm Sustainability Data Network (FSDN) expanded its network of measures to include social and environmental statistics and although Teagasc already covered these topics, this means there will be more emphasis on farm safety.

Previously, farm accident questions only appeared in the survey at a five-yearly interval under the heading of additional questions.

The questions that are set to be now asked are: “Has there been a farm accident on your farm in the last year?” and “Has a risk assessment been conducted on your farm?”.

Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal, senior health and safety specialist at Teagasc Dr John McNamara said this measure will help drive better research and more policy-making on a European level.

“The huge advantage of the FSDN is that it has a mass of farm data which can be published in the media and scientifically. It will add to knowledge for policy and promotion,” he said.

“It will be in Ireland and across every country in Europe. That’s a huge deficit, as we’ve seen from SafeHabitus, many countries don’t collect any data so this will help to fill that void.

“What’s unseen is unknown and then not acted upon so having data is the first and necessary step to galvanise action on any issue including farm safety.”

Survey

The Teagasc NFS is conducted each year by trained farm reporters who visit and survey farmers across the country.

Economic, social, environmental and innovation sustainability metrics are produced for dairy, cattle, sheep and tillage farms throughout the year.

The report also includes time series results over several years, which allows an assessment of how farm sustainability has changed temporally.

“I wish to emphasise that the farmers are totally anonymous. It’s done by a trained farm reporter who visits the farm and has a good relationship with them,” Dr McNamara added.

“The farm accounts data network has operated virtually since the CAP was formed in the 1972 and it has worked extremely well and it’s respected by all sides.”