Emma highlights farm safety for Ploughing

Emma on 'Nationwide' last night.

Former CPC student and member of Kilcullen Scouts Emma Birchall is the voice and face of safety on the farm during this week's National Ploughing Championships, writes Brian Byrne.

She was featured on last night's 'Nationwide' programme on RTE1, talking to reporter Mary Fanning about her chosen theme as the Macra 'Queen of the Land', the competition she won last November.

She said she became particularly interested in the area when she visited emergency rooms as part of her medical studies in UCC. Along with a team of fell Macra members, she has been organising farm safety demonstrations at various venues.

READ: Emma is the face of farm safety



Emma is a member of South Kildare Macra, and takes a break from her studies most weekends to come back and help on the family farm near Baltinglass, as well as meeting up with her Macra friends.

READ: A great parade made a great day



In 2013, Emma was the prime mover behind the St Patrick's Day Parade in Kilcullen, along with fellow members of Kilcullen Scouts.

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Emma is a 'face of farm safety'

Local girl Emma Birchall is one of the 'Faces of Farm Safety' headlining a range of farm safety issues during this Farm Safety Week UK & Ireland, writes Brian Byrne.

Emma, the 2017 Macra na Feirme Queen of the Land, emphasises that people impacted by a farm accident should talk to the people who are there to help. In particular, she notes the dangers posed by poor mental health. "Poor mental health can effect physical capabilities on the farm and this is when accidents happen," she says.

Under the social media hashtag #FacesofFarmSafety, she joins Ciaran Roche of FBD Insurance, who encourages farmers to ensure machinery is in good and safe condition; Imelda Walsh of the Irish Farmers' Association who warns about the dangers of livestock; and Joe Killeen, President of the INTO, who shares his farm safety message in a focus on child safety.

Paddy Hennessy of Glanbia and Mairead McGuinness MEP, and Helen Guinan of The Irish Farm Centre are other 'faces' of the campaign, as is Tommy Boland UCD School of Agriculture & Food Science, who asks farmers to 'always reflect on the risks before undertaking any task'. "Life holds too many opportunities to risk missing out on them because you are rushing," he says.

Last year, 24 people lost their lives in farm accidents in Ireland, and so far this year the death toll is 11.

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No age barrier to learning CPR

If your heart stops suddenly, you won't care what age the person is who administers CPR and saves your life, writes Brian Byrne.

And that's why PJ Fagan, local volunteer with the Irish Red Cross, was quite happy to show the technique to a young person at Kilcullen Mart yesterday, during the Farm Safety event.

"But a couple of years ago, we couldn't have done that," he told the Diary. "It was only last year that we had the younger age limit for qualifying someone in CPR brought down to 12 years. Before that it was 16."

There's no upper age limit, but PJ says that older people sometimes say they wouldn't have the strength to use the technique if they found someone in cardiac arrest.

"That might be the case occasionally, but wouldn't it still be useful if they could direct someone else how to do it? That's why I think everyone should learn."

True. And it can be learned quickly. So whatever age you are, if you get a chance to learn at a local first aid course, or wherever, take the short time it needs.

Farm Safety: when losing a leg was 'lucky'

Peter Gohery, a Galway farmer who lost his leg in a PTO accident in 2009, never misses a chance to stress to his fellow farmers the importance of safety around machinery, writes Brian Byrne.

At today's Farm Safety event in Kilcullen Mart, he recalled the incident over which he considers himself 'lucky'.

Lucky to be alive. Lucky that he had turned down the speed of the PTO — which didn't have a cover like the one he was speaking beside today.

Lucky that his 10-year-old son was on the tractor and knew how to switch off the power to the PTO, and who could then run to get help.

Lucky to be around today to be able to talk about it. Now with a prosthetic leg, Peter was a keynote to today's multi-agency event which included the IFA, Department of Agriculture, An Garda, Irish Red Cross, and Kildare County Council's Road Safety department.

He spoke of the lack of any support network to anyone in a farm accident. "There's no social welfare because you're self-employed, and my insurance company said I'd have to lose two legs for a viable claim."

Following a short but graphic speech in the Mart itself about his accident, and about its consequences, Peter and members of the Red Cross, and Kildare Fire Brigade, discussed what can be done by anyone nearby to a farm accident, whether it by from machinery, a fall or a crush, an incident with livestock, or a sudden health issue.

But the bottom line to it all was to try and prevent an accident in the first place. And the underpinning to that is as it always was: don't take short cuts, don't take risks, with any health and safety aspect of operating a farm.

As 2017 runs on, it's unfortunately a message that needs reinforcing, as with 15 people already dead in farm accidents so far this year, we are looking at a worse outcome for the whole year than in 2016.

'Patience' urged for farm operators, motorists on the road

Advice on how to safely use the roads when operating farm vehicles, and the need for patience and consideration on both sides was part of the information given today at the Farm Safety event in Leinster Marts, Kilcullen, writes Brian Byrne.

Kildare County Council Road Safety Officer Declan Keogh was on hand both to distribute packs of high-viz clothing to farmers at the Mart, as well as discussing issues relating to moving between fields and roads.

"Simple things, like making sure that their vehicles are as clean as possible before they exit onto the road," he said. "It's important that mud and other debris is kept off the road, for the safety of other drivers. If a car comes on a stretch slippery with mud, they can unexpectedly skid."

He also emphasised that other road users in rural areas should be aware that they may encounter farm machinery around a bend, moving slowly. "A lot of this equipment can't move quickly by its nature, so motorists need to drive at a speed on rural roads that allows for this." He reiterated the advice given this week by the Road Safety Authority that, with the silage cutting season in full swing, the need for patience on all sides.

The Garda Traffic Corp was also in attendance at the Mart, reminding those present of the regulations relating to the operation of farm equipment. In particular, loads should be properly tied down, and trailers mustn't be loaded in a way that makes them unstable.

Awareness of low bridges and power lines, and the consideration of using escort vehicles for large machinery are also matters which are being reiterated by the IFA at events like this.

Fire Service talks farm safety

Kildare Fire Service gets a significant number of callouts to farms over a year, writes Brian Byrne, and not all of them relate to fires.

"But we had two haybarn fire callouts last week alone," says fire officer JP McDonagh, who with his colleague Michael Maciejewski was today showing some of the equipment they use, at the Farm Safety Week event in Kilcullen Mart.

"If a farmer gets caught under machinery, we are called in to rescue them," says Michael. "And also, farm accidents can be in difficult places to reach, so we have a 4x4 vehicle to help with that." He also noted that they deal with cases of sudden illness, such as a heart attack, and these can also be in difficult-to-access cases on a farm.

A farm operative falling into a slurry pit is another not uncommon accident which the Fire Service has to deal with. "And we also have to do animal rescue," says JP. "A horse or a cow can fall over in a field and has to be lifted, or rescued from a drain by strap and crane.

The officers were also advising those attending the Mart on specific fire safety for farms and rural areas, including threats from arson, natural processes that generate heat in stacked crops, or careless use of matches and cigarettes.

Farmers are also reminded to make sure they have adequate fire-fighting equipment and that it is properly maintained.

Farm Safety day at Kilcullen Mart

Declan Phelan, IFA regional development officer; with Caroline Farrell of the IFA Farm Family Committee, organiser of the Farm Safety Event.

An important farm and rural area safety demonstration is taking place today at Kilcullen Cattle Mart, writes Brian Byrne.

It involves a number of agencies, including the IFA, the Department of Agriculture, the Irish Red Cross, An Garda, and the County Kildare Fire Service.

With the number of deaths due to farm accidents at 15 to date, it is a worrying increase on last year for the same period, says the IFA's regional development officer Declan Phelan, who is attending today's event.

"In many cases it is machinery and age-related, older farmers using larger equipment," he told the Diary today. "The age profile on small farms is now much older, with few younger people coming in. In many cases, the farmer is working on his own, with a heavier workload. And if an accident happens, with nobody around to help, a relatively smaller one can become more serious very quickly."

In the absence of other staff on farms, farmers are using more sophisticated and heavier machinery, including combines, choppers and hay balers, all of which provide inherent dangers such as catching clothing or limbs in the machinery, too often with fatal consequences.

Caroline Farrell of the IFA Farm Family Committee says this is an important local initiative being held as part of Farm Safety Week. "I helped to organise the one for Kildare to run with the Mart in Kilcullen, as a central focus for farming in the area."

Among the various demonstrations will be a demonstration by Lift Hire on how to work safely at heights. The Garda will talk about issues of weights on trailers on the road among other matters, and the Irish Red Cross will demonstrate what to to and, equally important, what not to do, in an accident situation.

The Diary will be dropping in and out of the event and we'll bring you more on this later.