A group of students from St. Catherine's Vocational School in Killybegs, Donegal recently created a video around farm safety and risks.

This group of girls in Transition Year (TY) created the video to promote awareness, education and prevention on the farm by showing how easily accidents can occur.

They also focussed on steps to avoid these accidents, providing greater awareness around responsibility.

The students' teacher, Niall Canning said: "They all love farming and they see a lot with their friends as well that accidents can happen. And they've come up with this idea of THINK."

THINK stands for:

T - Take a moment;
H - Hazards;
I - Instructions;
N - Never rush;
K - Keep safe.

Canning added: "That's what they've designed for. And if they can save one life, it's a success, but just spread awareness, spread awareness within the farmer community."

The video was also made by the TY students to highlight 2026 being the International Year of the Woman Farmer.

Farm safety

The TY students met with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon for a Q&A in relation to the Certified Irish Angus School's Competition, which took place on Donegal Mart manager Eimear McGuinness's farm.

The minister commented on the importance of the video that the girls created.

He said: "Young people are much better at pulling up older people who are doing bad practices on the farm.

According to the minister, a farmer is seven times more likely to lose their life on a workplace than any other worker in the country.

"It's unacceptably high, and its because we have, in general as farmers, a poor attitude to risk," Minister Heydon said.

The students have entered their farm safety video into the Certified Irish Angus School Competition 2026, where winners receive five Irish Angus calves to rear, benefitting from the proceeds of the calves' sale, and a further education bursary.

This year's competition will to take place in Croke Park on March 6.