Farmers in Northern Ireland are being urged to prioritise safety as silage season approaches.

The Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI), in partnership with the Farm Safety Partnership (FSP), is reminding farmers and agricultural workers to take extra care during grass cutting and silage making operations.

With the silage season just around the corner, the message to all involved is to plan ahead, stay alert and make safety a top priority.

Speaking at the latest FSP meeting, chair Harry Sinclair said: “Silage operations often require the use of high-powered, fast-moving machinery often on challenging ground conditions and in unpredictable weather.

"This increases the likelihood of mistakes and potentially life-changing incidents."

He added that breakdowns, often due to poor maintenance, can lead to delays and extra pressures in what is an already busy schedule.

"Farmers and contractors should be carrying out pre-use checks on the machinery before use and rectifying any issues before putting the machine into service," Sinclair said.

 Farmers must ensure:

All machinery is in good working order and well maintained;
All brakes must be working effectively;
All PTOs and moving parts need to be fully guarded.

Blockages occur frequently and these should only be cleared after the machine has been stopped and the tractor keys removed.

Hazardous

HSENI deputy chief executive Bryan Monson also warned farmers and contractors about not letting children onto the machinery.

“Silage making is an essential job, but it can also be one of the most hazardous times of the year on the farm," Monson explained.

“But shortcuts can lead to tragedy so we are urging farmers to slow down, watch out for each other and keep any children and visitors to the farm safe.

"No child under the age of 13 should be driving or carried in any vehicle involved in silage making."

He said the potential for children to be run over is also high.

He said farmers must ensure that mirrors and cameras are working, anyone operating the machinery is trained and competent to do so and children are excluded from areas where vehicles are operating.

Reminders

HSENI and FSP are reminding all farmers and contractors that:

Extreme care should be taken when filling and covering the silage clamp;
Clamps must never be overfilled as this greatly increases the chance of a tractor or loading shovel overturning;
Care should be taken to avoid people falling from height and also from being trapped beneath the silage cover. The fermenting grass uses up the oxygen under the cover very quickly and the level of harmful gases increase rapidly;
Overhead powerlines pose a significant risk to machinery that requires a lot of headroom, such as self-propelled harvesters and tipping trailers;
They should inform any contractor or driver with their location prior to any silage operations commencing.

Bryan Monson added: “It’s easy to dismiss safety messages as overcautious, but serious and fatal accidents continue to happen, often with devastating consequences for farming families.

"Please take a moment to stop and think 'is it safe?' and help ensure everyone returns home safely this silage season.”