Farmers work to implement measures to keep children safe on farm

Farmers are to spread the word about child safety on-farm
Farmers are to spread the word about child safety on-farm

Farmers across the UK are working to implement and share practical measures that help keep children safe on farm.

The industry is working to reduce farm accidents, and, with a specific focus this summer, to keep children safe.

Over the next few months, farmers are joining with the Farm Safety Partnership (FSP) to share key messages.

The campaign, launched in January, aims to reduce on-farm deaths and injuries by 50 percent by 2023.

Starting from today (2 July), the partnership is sharing guidance and information on the law regarding child safety.

One of these messages is that if children enter the workplace, farmers must ensure they are supervised by an adult not distracted by work.

Another looks at children and agricultural machinery. Any child under the age of 13 are prohibited from driving or riding on any machine, the FSP says.

NFU Vice President and chairman of the FSP, Stuart Roberts, said children are an 'integral part' of family run farm businesses.

However, he said: “We must remember that farms are first and foremost a working environment and, like any job, we should try to separate our work from our home life.

“Farms are not playgrounds. All children need is somewhere secure to play that is away from the work place, and if they do need to enter your place of work adult supervision is essential.

“Such boundaries become even more important during the summer holidays when children are at home,” he said.

In Northern Ireland alone, 11 children have lost their lives due to work related accidents on farms since the year 2000.