New year, new behaviour on farm
Date published:
New Year’s Resolutions were formed 4,000 years’ ago in order to think about mistakes made in the past and resolving to do and be better in the future.
This year the YFCU wants its members and the wider agricultural industry to look at their own behaviours and attitudes towards farm safety and make changes as our industry, the agricultural industry, still kills and injures more people than any other in the UK and Ireland.
To enable change the YFCU has partnered with AFBI to undertake a survey looking at attitudes amongst people towards farm safety and ways in which safety for people on farms can be improved.
Zita McNaugher, YFCU President, commenting on the study, said: “All too often accidents happen on our farms which are preventable, and several happen due to habit and behaviour. We know that we need to engage with farmers of all ages to tackle this poor safety record and make farms safer places to work, this is why we have partnered with AFBI to undertake a survey on this topic. The survey will investigate individuals’ behaviours and habits on their farms, which will help us impact government policy and regulation.”
Dr Claire Jack, Principal Researcher at AFBI, said: “Ensuring that our next generation of farmers recognise and are aware of the risks on their farms is extremely important. This survey provides an opportunity to assess how young farmers think about farm safety and will examine those everyday routines, habits and behaviours that need to change in order to reduce the risk of accidents.”
If you are involved in farming the YFC/AFBI want to know a little bit more about you, what you consider to be the main safety issues in farming, and what you think would help in terms of further training, advice and support.