The National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs (NFYFC) is backing Farm Safety Week (22-26 July) – a campaign managed and funded by the Farm Safety Foundation (Yellow Wellies).
The campaign has become an important focus in the farming calendar and is supported by more than 400 partners in five countries -*England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
The 2024 campaign marks 10 years of the Farm Safety Foundation – a charity set up by leading rural insurer NFU Mutual to raise awareness of, and challenge attitudes to farm safety and poor mental health in the industry.
Farm Safety Foundation Manager Stephanie Berkeley said:
“Ten years have passed quickly and we are proud of what we have achieved but there is so much more to be done to address the massive challenges we have in the industry.
"Attitudes and behaviours around farm safety and mental health are changing but the pace of change is slow –too slow for the families of those we have lost in the industry and too slow for the thousands of farmers suffering every day with long term ill-health, serious injuries or poor mental health.”
NFYFC has worked with The Farm Safety Foundation on a number of initiatives to help share important messages with YFC members. Two workshops are available for clubs to deliver during club meetings – Farm Safety and Minding Your Head – and the Farm Safety Foundation also supports NFYFC’s Farm Machinery Skills competition.
The charity has also supported the Young Farmer of the Year Award at the YFC Achiever Awards, which aims to celebrate young people who are promoting safer working practices on farm.
This year’s Farm Safety Week will again highlight some of the key challenges farmers and farm workers face every day and will throw a spotlight on the dangers of ignoring near-misses, reminding farmers that, while they can not eliminate risk completely, they can minimise it and learn from every near-miss to improve their working practices.
The team will introduce audiences to inspirational individuals using their own experiences to encourage others to stay alert to the hazards on farm and offer practical guidance on how to make farms safer places to live, visit or work.
NFYFC Chair Drew Bailey from NFYFC said:
“We are proud to support the annual Farm Safety Week campaign and to promote the ways in which YFC helps to improve farm safety among its members.
Working in partnership with other like-minded organisations can help amplify important messages throughout the week. We need to challenge this industry’s safety behaviours and we need to change our poor safety record. Together we can make a difference not just for the farmers of today but for the farmers of the future.”
For more information on ‘Farm Safety Week’ visit www.yellowwellies.org or follow @yellowwelliesUK on Twitter/Facebook/Instagram using the hashtag #FarmSafetyWeek
