NFYFC’s Farm Safety module can be delivered during club meetings by YFC Trainers – people involved in YFC who have been on NFYFC’s Train the Trainer course.
We caught up with YFC Trainer Charlotte Harris, a former member and County Chair of Dorset YFC, to find out more about the Farm Safety Curve module and why she would recommend it.
I have been on the trainers' register for quite a few years and have delivered quite a few courses in Dorset and some in Somerset. When people struggle for ideas for club meetings, I always encourage them to run a Curve module.
The Farm Safety module is relevant to all YFC members. When I discuss with clubs the list of modules available, they usually choose Farm Safety first!
The clubs start the meeting thinking it is going to be a grilling, however, I like to explain that we run the courses to review best practices and reassess situations. The aim is to encourage members just to stop for a second and admit something isn’t a good idea.
Although I use the Powerpoint slides provided for the modules, with my general farming background and my role with the NFU Mutual, I’m able to add content to these. While I can’t share personal information, I can emphasise real-life situations.
The module includes a powerful video from former NFYFC Chairman Jim Chapman who shares the story of his farm accident and the impact it has had on his life. Jim is a close friend of my brother and with his connections to YFC, it makes his story more relatable to members.
Due to my working background, I’m aware of local incidents that have happened. One slide in particular features figures of causes of deaths, and although they are just numbers on a screen, it provides an opportunity to discuss some real examples, which is beneficial to have done some research on. The members usually have their experiences to share, which are also useful to highlight.
Hopefully after the session, members go home and talk about it and think twice. Someone came up to me at a rally after I’d delivered a course in Somerset and told me they’d been discussing the module in the pub with a few other members. That’s enough for me! They’ve heard the messages and not gone away and forgotten about it.
Absolutely. There are some interesting Curve modules on the list but they’re not always going to interest everyone in the club, whereas farm safety is relatable to every member. Even if they’re not directly farming themselves, they’re in YFC so they know a farmer!
Use the interactive elements of the course to get people talking. The hazard perception exercise is always worth printing off rather than doing it on the screen. Splitting people into groups to discuss usually results in more ideas and I mix the groups as an icebreaker for perhaps the newer members. This is a good moment to have some real-life examples to hand to add some further detail to the course.
The Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance run a ‘Farmer Down’ initiative, which is a great follow up for this particular Curve module. The courses are delivered by a member of the clinical team and really hit home with some useful basic first aid knowledge. Dorset YFC have raised huge amounts of money over the years for the Air Ambulance and appreciate how important the charity is.