Among other organisations, we were lucky enough to be joined by the Alix Morley from the Yellow Wellies team to talk about the Farm Safety Foundation’s campaigns.
It’s interesting now that the emphasis is not only on mental health but on physical health too. Sometimes they go hand in hand, but how often do you overlook an ailment or injury because farming comes first and you ‘don’t have the time’?
It could be something as simple as continuous heartburn, a constant headache or occasional blurred vision. Ask yourself this, who would fill your boots?
Pick up the phone and make a doctor’s appointment today. There were some interesting questions from members and Andrew our County Chair was keen to allow everyone to discuss them and hear the responses from both Alix and our Farm Safety and Transport Adviser Stuart Head; so we changed the format and brought everyone together after food to have an open Q&A.
Andrew Wilson took to the floor to talk about some of his ideas and bugbears and spoke about helping to educate the younger generation who are just starting their farming careers.
I noticed that Farmer’s Weekly, in association with AgriKids, have launched a Farm Safety Stars campaign to encourage children to become farm safety ambassadors, through a series of interactive worksheets. This ties in with Andrew Wilson’s comments on trying to educate from an early age – bad habits take years to break after all.
Farming is a risky business, but there is a lot more that we can do to make it safer. I am very grateful for Andrew standing up, because he agreed on the spot to host next year’s Farm Walk and Health and Safety event at Slingsby.
Thanks Andrew!
On the mental health side, the show season is a great opportunity to catch up with friends and to celebrate farming, please call onto the NFU stand at Driffield or Ryedale Show this summer and say hello.