As almost everyone is busy with harvest well away now, I hope you can all take a moment to make sure you are looking after yourself and you are well fed, hydrated, and taking breaks where you can. Keep an eye out for each other and remember safety must always come first!
Firstly, I am very pleased to be back at work, and thank you all for your patience while I was recovering from a bad accident. On the topic of farm safety, we had a fantastic (albeit incredibly warm) day for the Herts and Essex Health and Safety Day on the 8th July, with thanks to Tom Streeter for kindly hosting. Despite almost every combine in East Anglia rolling, we still had a good number show up to hear from our speakers. Topics included fire safety, tyre safety and emergency first aid, among others. For those who attended I hope you found the day useful, and you are able to implement something you learnt into your routine.
With it being so unrelentingly hot and dry this year there is of course a heightened risk of fires so I encourage you all to consider the safety advice on field fires and combine fires, and implement these practices if you have not done so already. I'd also encourage you to download RABI's new FarmersAid app for useful safety advice and setups.
Now back in position, I am getting the diary organised with plenty of member events in the Autumn and Winter. A key date for your diary… Hertfordshire AGM will be Tuesday 10th November 2026- more details to follow. As always please do get in touch with any queries.
I look forward to seeing you all out and about, and sending my best wishes for a successful (rest of) harvest 2026 - remember to share #YourHarvest on social media!