‘Quad bikes on the farm can be deadly weapons in the wrong hands’
A QUAD BIKE can be a deadly weapon on farms when left in the wrong hands, an FBD farm safety expert has warned.
Although Irish farmers are the best in Europe at producing milk, Myles Reilly, an FBD Risk Management Surveyor and sheep farmer from Longford, has described Irish farmers safety record as “very poor over the last couple of years”.
Speaking at the Longford Lamb Producer Group open evening on the farm of Willie and Ann Fox in Tang, Co Westmeath, Mr Reilly highlighted the danger of quads.
“We have the highest fatality rate in any sector in the country so we need to get better at that.
“Quads are a very common piece of equipment on farms, particularly on sheep farms recently, and already this year unfortunately we’ve had two fatalities with quads in the country.
“Quads are very, very dangerous weapon in the wrong hands.
“As farmers we’re a little bit bravo by times and don’t like wearing a helmet but it can be the difference in a life changing injury.”
He also urged farmers to look after their own personal health in order to stay fit for farming.
“If the ewe isn’t thriving we call the vet but we’re often slow to call the doctor for ourselves,” he said.
Fatalities
“I know we are conscious of the risks but we need to change our attitude and behaviour a little bit. We’ve got better in construction, we’ve got better in quarrying but we need to get better in farming,” he said.
Fatalities in the agriculture sector soared by 87pc in 2014. In 2016 a total of 21 deaths were recorded, this year so far there have been 15 farm related deaths.
Meanwhile, Ronan Collins, Kepak Lamb Procurement Manager, encouraged farmers to rethink out-of-date fat scoring techniques on lambs.
“The fat score on lambs is very important as the market requires cuts with a fat cover consistent with a fat score 3 lamb.
“Under fleshed lambs do not have sufficient fat cover and are not suitable for commercial contracts and therefore are penalised on price.
Mr Collins, who also spoke at the Longford Lamb Producer Group open evening in Tang, advised farmers that fat scoring with the tail doesn’t give the overall cover.
“The fat score along the ribs and the backbone is more accurate. My message is handle stock. Just because they reach the ideal weight, doesn’t mean they are ready to kill, the fat score is as important as weight. R3 or U3 is the ideal confirmation,” he said.