Farmers needed to share their H&S stories

Farmers Weekly is urging farmers who have had an accident or near-miss on their farm to get in touch.

A recent leader column called for readers to start talking more openly about safety issues, encouraging them to share their experiences and near-misses so others could learn from them.

We know that readers sometimes feel that health and safety messages are patronising and boring.

The messages that often hit home are the ones where you can identify with how it happened and why – delivered by other farmers, rather than faceless regulators.

In a letter published in Farmers Weekly (8 April) reader Alice Townsend, who manages a farm in Northamptonshire said: “In DIVE magazine the final page of the magazine is called “It happened to me…”

“In it readers write in and recount incidents or near misses and what they learnt from it. I wondered if you could do something similar.

“The incidents are sometimes funny and everyone reads them and goes ‘idiot’ but sometimes you think: “Mmm I do that!”.

“Basically it is good way of bringing real incidents out into the open and discussing them and you realise, that really happens.

“Next time you are in the same situation you may vary your reaction as a result.”

Farmers Weekly is now calling for farmers who are willing to start the ball rolling.

We’re conscious that people will want probably want to retain their anonymity so you can either post your stories on our forums under a unidentifiable username or email them to us. The best will be used in future issues of Farmers Weekly.