The Association of Farm and Forestry Contractors in Ireland (FCI) has produced advice and guidance for safety – especially in light of Covid-19 – during the 2020 silage season.

The guidelines are aimed at highlighting how contractors and farmers “can work together during the Covid-19 restrictions”.

“The aim is to keep everyone on the farm healthy and safe during the 2020 silage season,” the FCI said.

Child safety is of particular concern.

“Most children are off school due to the Covid-19 restrictions and the arrival of the silage contractor can provide some excitement for them, in what can be an otherwise boring time,” said FCI national chairperson Richard White.

“We are urging all farm families to pay particular attention to child safety on farms over the coming weeks. We are urging farm families not to allow children into silage fields when the harvesting is taking place, from the time of mowing on-wards,” White added.

In terms of what farmers can do regarding contractor safety, the FCI said they should ensure that any risks from farm work are reasonably managed (“eliminated or minimised”) to protect the health and safety of contractors and their operators, while risks from low-hanging overhead wires should be made known to the contractor.

“The FCI believes that contractors and farmers must work together to meet their overlapping duties every time a contractor comes onto a farm,” the association said, suggesting that a phone conversation between contractor and farmer before work starts would be helpful to “establish clear roles, responsibilities and actions in order to prevent any gaps in managing health and safety risks”.

The FCI also raised concerns about filling silage pits or clamps to excessive or possibly dangerous heights. Contractors and farmers are being asked to plan and agree safe operating procedures, especially with regard to silage pit / clamp filling heights, before silage harvesting commences.

“We know it is a difficult balance between work, health and safety and your critical work challenges – often determined by weather and long draws – as a farm contractor during silage harvesting,” said White.

He concluded: “At FCI, we advocate a reasonable approach in an effort to get the best outcome for contractors, their skilled people, and thousands of Irish farmers and their families that rely on skilled and experienced contractors to provide their valuable and cost-effective machinery services each year.”