The pre-harvest event, held at member Andrew Wilson’s farm, was centred around keeping people physically and mentally healthy and staying safe on farm.
Andrew gave members a farm tour on trailers and arranged a static display of machinery to celebrate the family’s centenary of being tenants of Castle Howard Estate.
Attendees took part in a health and safety discussion with NFU Farm Safety and Transport Adviser Sarah Stephens and NFU Mutual Risk Management Services’ Sharon Webster.
The group had an open discussion about past experiences and how to create safer working environments. Andrew recounted two accidents he had experienced himself, outlined what he learned, and explained how he keeps his staff safe on farm.
York East County Chair Andrew Sewell spoke about his recent diagnosis and treatment of sepsis, and urged members to be aware of the symptoms.
Members then tucked into steak baguettes and refreshments courtesy of caterer Lottie Loves.
Attendees met representatives from The Farming Community Network (FCN), the North Yorkshire Police Rural Task Force, the National Association of Agricultural Contractors (NAAC), Northern Powergrid, NFU Mutual Risk Management Services, Fireward Fire Suppression and the North Riding health team – who carried out 28 free health checks throughout the event.
Use the 'Take 5' approach
York East County Adviser Poppy Smith said: “It’s been fantastic to welcome more than 50 members to our farm walk. We’ve been lucky enough to be joined by many organisations to discuss safety and wellbeing on farm, who have all been drumming home that same message about thinking about what you’re doing during harvest and at busy times of the year, because that helps to save lives.”
NFU Farm Safety and Transport Adviser Sarah Stephens said: “These events are so important for members to unite and share good safety practices. Key things that were covered today include the importance of efficiency when it comes to machinery and vehicles, having good communication between your teams and the importance of awareness around safety and knowing what to do.
“A key theme that has resonated is tiredness – working through harvest, you will get tired and tiredness can have a massive impact on your safety. This aligns with our Take 5 to Stay Alive campaign – we’re encouraging members to use the ‘Take 5’ approach as a cue to build in regular breaks.”
As well as the NFU’s Take 5 to Stay Alive sticker campaign, the NAAC are also producing stickers for farmers to display around their farm to remind people not to take unnecessary risks.
Jill Hewitt, Chief Executive of NAAC, handed out their ‘You Are Vital to UK Agriculture’ stickers at the York East event. She said: “It’s been great to take part in this important event, working with farmers and contractors to try and keep everybody safe. We’ve had a high number of fatalities in the last year, and these events are critical to raise awareness about the importance of safety.”
More from NFUonline:
