Farmers Weekly launches kids’ farm safety campaign
© Shane O'Neill Coalesce Farmers Weekly has teamed up with Irish farm safety initiative AgriKids to bring you Farm Safety Stars – a campaign to empower children living on farms and in the rural community to become farm safety ambassadors.
AgriKids was set up by County Meath farmer Alma Jordan in 2014, a tragic year in which 32 people lost their lives on Irish farms, including five children.
Alma was particularly affected by the deaths of the children, which led her to recognise the dangers that youngsters often face on farms.
See also: One farmer killed every fortnight on UK farms
“I was very aware of what farming people normalise,” says Alma, who grew up in a farming family herself.
And so the idea for AgriKids was born, its aim to educate children about the importance of safety on farms.
“I realised how dangerous the environments in which we raise our kids can be, so I became proactive,” she says.
Teaching and empowering
Inspired by her son’s passion for the character Tractor Ted, she recognised that weaving safety messages into children’s learning could have a powerful impact.
“My son loves story books, so I looked into where children were getting hurt on farms and I decided to write storybooks about the dangers,” Alma explains.
This vision led to the development of educational resources designed to raise awareness about farm safety.
With a focus on teaching children and empowering them to become safety advocates, AgriKids has grown steadily since its inception in 2015.
© Finbarr O’Rourke
Alma’s initiative has seen success through school visits, where she has spoken to more than 80,000 children at farm safety events across Ireland.
Her approach is grounded in the belief that education about farm safety should be a shared responsibility.
“I want teachers and parents to normalise the conversation of farm safety, but I think this can start with kids,” she says.
She focuses on engaging young learners to bring their newfound knowledge home and encourage safe practices within farming families.
“Children are known for pester power, and we can harness this to get to the source!”
Alma notes that kids often push for change within their homes: “Kids are natural, instinctive learners and take home that learning to their parents.”
Proactive partnership
AgriKids’ collaboration with Farmers Weekly is a significant step forward in the organisation’s mission to foster farm safety education.
For Alma, the partnership marks an exciting opportunity to reach an even wider audience.
“I’m really excited as Farmers Weekly has touched on something I’ve wanted to do for a long time,” she says.
The campaign will feature weekly worksheets that can be used on family farms to help children understand the dangers of being around heavy machinery, animals and other hazards commonly found in agricultural settings.
Andrew Meredith, editor of Farmers Weekly, says: “I hope our younger readers really enjoy the worksheets over the next months – and hammer the message home to mum and dad about the importance of coming home safely every night too.”
© Alma Jordan
Alma adds that the key to success lies in the approach.
“It’s not a top-down approach, but from the bottom up; the knowledge will filter up to the parents,” she says.
Alma believes that teaching children how to be safe on farms will help ensure that future generations of farmers are well-prepared for the challenges they may face.
“If we can teach them to be safe, in future years farming will be in a very good place as the kids will be resilient, and mental health and wellbeing will be supported.
“It all boils down to good education of our young ones,” she adds.
The partnership with Farmers Weekly aims to make farm safety education even more widespread, allowing children, parents, and educators to access valuable resources that will help create safer farming environments.
“I am not an advocate for keeping kids off the farm. I think there is no better place to learn as it teaches kids resilience, empathy, and work ethic.
“AgriKids is developed from a farm family for a farm family,” says Alma.
About the Farm Safety Stars campaign
Turn your kids into Farm Safety Stars and help create a safer future on our farms for everyone.
Over the next few months, we’ll be publishing weekly interactive worksheets featuring fun activities that help youngsters aged up to 13 learn how to be farm safe.
Get your kids involved to help ensure they stay safe now, and grow up to be safer farmers in the future.
You can download the worksheets every week from Farm Safety Stars page, and Farmers Weekly subscribers will also receive a printed worksheet with their copy of the magazine.
Later in the campaign, there’s the chance for kids to get a Farm Safety Stars certificate in our quiz to show how much they’ve learned.
You can also inspire others by sharing photos of your “farm safety stars” completing their weekly worksheets.
Show us what they’re learning about being farm safe – and staying farm safe – for a chance to feature on our social media channels and in the magazine.
