New farm safety initiative launched
A new farm safety initiative designed to address labour and isolation concerns on rural farms has been launched by Irish Rural Link, which is headed up by Rahan man, Seamus Boland.
The Farm Safety Community Champion programme will equip local communities with a representative to act as a champion for farmer safety and wellbeing and is being funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
Irish Rural Link, CEO, Seamus Boland said the need for community has “never been so important for farmers” who are being subjected to growing levels of isolation. He pointed out that having Safety Community Champions will help to build farming networks and lead to “a more connected rural society”and expressed the hope that local communities will see the initiative as an opportunity to “support, strengthen, and sustain relationships with and between farmers for a more inclusive future.”
The programme consists of the training of nine regionally spread Farm Safety Community Champions from various backgrounds including farming, teaching, and community mentoring. These champions will develop networks in their regions to connect farmers to their communities, delivering farm safety and well-being talks at local marts and community centres.
To further bolster this initiative and assist with growing workforce concerns, Irish Rural Link is calling on rural communities to organise a ‘Farmer’s Haggart’ as part of this programme. The Farmer’s Haggart will be led by a local Farm Safety Community Champion, and will encourage farmers to assist one another in simple tasks on the farm. The goal of this is to foster local connections between farmers to further develop rural farming networks, and support community wellbeing.
Anyone interested in getting involved in the Farm Safely Community Champion prgoramme can find their local Farm Safety Community Champion on the Farmers4Safety website: https://www.farmers4safety.ie/
The website also contains information on how to organise a Farmer’s Haggart event within your community.