The Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) is highlighting the key risk associated with age during this week’s Farm Safety Week 2025.
The Farm Safety Partnership (FSP) held an older farmer health and safety awareness day earlier this year at the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service’s (NIFRS’s) new Learning and Development College, Cookstown.
The event – which was held in affiliation with FSP’s partners such as HSENI – discussed how farmers over 65 years-of-age can be at a higher risk of injury or even fatality.
The day outlined how farmers can make small changes to reduce the risk of the accidents and reinforced the message that by taking small steps, farmers can save their own or other’s lives.
The HSENI confirmed that over 60 farmers attended to learn about an array of topics.
Professionals informed farmers on the dangers of animal handling, slurry management, machinery and all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), working at heights, and occupational health.
The advisers focused on matters such as dust and lung health as well as reminding farmers that agility and speed fade with age, which can often catch farmers out when animal handling.
HSENI
HSENI chief executive, Robert Kidd said: “It is important that we liaise and engage with our older farmers, as health and safety is an ever-increasing issue in the farming community with new equipment, machinery and methods of farming evolving all the time.
“Equally with older equipment, it is crucial to ensure it is well maintained and in safe working condition.”
Kidd said the event “gave us an opportunity to highlight the increased risks with age in farming, as we urged older farmers to recognise their limitations, and prioritise safety measures on their own farms.”
He expressed his satisfaction with the day, thanking the farmers for their feedback and stating how another event is already been planned after the success.
Speaking at the launch of Farm Safety Week, Kidd highlighted how farming has the poorest safety record of any industry across the UK and Ireland.
He said many farmers still think of the industry as “more than a job, it is a way of life”, and said that everyone shares the responsibility of keeping farming safe.
