Hundreds of East Anglian farmers have been brushing up on vital health and safety skills as harvest approaches.
Around 700 people signed up to attend one of six pre-harvest safety events organised by the National Farmers' Union (NFU) across the region.
Workshops looked at working safely under powerlines, vehicle and driver regulations, power take-off (PTO) safety and maintenance, safe stacking, and identifying risks around the farm.
NFU regional policy manager Charles Hesketh said: “The industry is working hard to improve its poor safety record and it was encouraging to see so many members booking to come along, with their employees, ahead of the busiest time in the farming calendar for arable farmers.”
Among the farmers hosting the events were Tony Bambridge at Marsham in Norfolk, Andrew Williams of Home Farm Nacton in Ipswich and Christy Willett of Galleywood, near Chelmsford.
NFU Suffolk council representative George Gittus - who hosted one of the safety events at Symonds Farm near Bury St Edmunds - said health and safety was crucially important in farming.
“The industry still isn’t learning its lessons, unfortunately, so we are happy to help in any way we can with improving that poor safety record. It’s a question of keeping health and safety at the forefront of everyone’s minds.
“Farmers and farm workers have come along because they believe it’s right and they want to learn. Hopefully these 700 people will spread the word to their friends and colleagues. That’s all we can hope for and keep striving for,” he said.
NFU vice president David Exwood told delegates at the Symonds Farm event that more people had been killed within in agriculture over 20 years than British soldiers serving in Afghanistan over the same period.
“That’s a shocking statistic and it shows the scale of the problem we have. We have to think about how to change culture and how we can change things across the industry,” he said.
Regional board chairman Tony Bambridge said it was encouraging to see "such enthusiasm and level of engagement to learn more about health and safety" at the event.
“I hope it’s a sign that agriculture and horticulture is looking to turn the corner and become the safer industry we all want it to be.”
Organisations working with the NFU included UK Power Networks, NFU Mutual Risk Management Services and MDT.
Representatives from farming charity YANA also attended many of the workshops to highlight issues around mental wellbeing and the help available.
Charity manager Emma Haley said: “Mental health plays a big part in safety on farms. When people are struggling they can feel overwhelmed and are not able to think clearly. That’s when mistakes can happen.”
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