First Milk to cover farm safety app's subscription costs for farmers

Farmers who supply First Milk can use the app to set up alert zones around the farm

First Milk has announced it has entered a new partnership with AgriGuardian to provide farmers with the award-winning farm safety app, free of charge.

The dairy co-operative said it would cover the app’s subscription costs for its farmer members in a bid to improve on-farm safety.

The app is based on the concept of a guardian (farmer) keeping protected users (often children or the infirm) safe around the farm through a system of alerts.

It aims to address the leading causes of injury on farms in a way suited to the busy and variable nature of farming.

Farm vehicles and moving machinery cause more than half the fatalities on UK farms, and many accident reports suggest the whereabouts of those involved simply wasn’t known.

Farmers who supply First Milk can use the app to set up alert zones around the farm, highlighting safe zones and danger zones, such as near a slurry pit or where tractors are regularly operating.

These zones can be adapted based on the time of day and the protected user.

An alert is triggered if a protected user’s mobile or smartwatch leaves a safe zone or enters a danger zone, and continues to sound until acknowledged.

In addition, the app provides further safety protection, with a proximity feature warning a guardian when a protected user comes within approximately 40m of the guardian’s device – particularly useful in high noise zones.

It also offers an anchoring feature – literally the reverse of the above – designed to virtually ‘tether’ protected users to a guardian, and sounding an alert if they stray more than 40m.

Mark Brooking, chief impact officer at First Milk, said: “By covering the app’s subscription costs, we are facilitating a way for them to dramatically improve farm safety and reduce the risk of accidents on their farms.

"All they need is a smart phone or smart watch for the individuals they wish to protect, and affordable options are available from AgriGuardian suited to children, making this a very accessible and simple solution to a major problem facing our industry.”

First Milk said it would cover the app’s subscription for members, with no personal financial/payment details required when signing up. Members will receive a discount code.

The app is available for both iPhones and Android systems and can ‘talk’ to each other for families with a mixture of both.

AgriGuardian is not available on Huawei.