Farm Safety Hub

Farm Safety Week 2025

The IFA wants its members to be able to work and come home each evening. We want Irish farms to be amongst the safest places to work which is why we have created a dedicated resource to support and improve safety awareness amongst farmers and farm families.

We work with other stakeholders in the sector in a co-ordinated effort to unite our voices in reducing farm accidents and tragedies.

2025 marks the thirteenth annual Farm Safety Week. The collaborative campaign, initiated by the Farm Safety Foundation (Yellow Wellies) in the UK and led by the IFA within Ireland brings together farming organisations from Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Northern Ireland Britain on the topic of farm safety.

Thirteen years on farming still has the poorest safety record of any occupation, why is this and more importantly what are we going to do about it?

IFA Farm Safety 2025 Leaflet

171 Total Farm Fatalitities Between 2015-2024

Farm Safety Video 2025

For the past number of years, to mark the week, IFA has spoke with farm accident survivors and families of a farm accident victims, and encouraged them to tell their stories to raise awareness on this issue. Our farm accident story this year is told by Philippa Byrne from Co Wexford.

It was meant to be a day of new beginnings. Philippa Byrne had dropped her kids off for the first day of the new school year, while her dad, Martin O’Connor, set about reseeding a field that once grew Christmas trees. But as Philippa returned home from the school run, the tragedy of her dad’s farm accident brought her family’s lives to a crashing halt.

Watch Philippa’s story below:

We are very thankful to all those individuals who appeared in various video campaigns since the beginning of the Farm Safety Week initiative to highlight the importance of farm safety. For those who have survived, we thank you for your bravery in recalling those events and we forever remember those who were lost to us.

Farmer Health – Time To Take Stock

As part of Farm Safety Week 2025, IFA President Francie Gorman talks about his own recent health story, and the decision to make his health a priority.

Farmer Health & Wellbeing is key aspect of Farm Safety, and it is important that farmers take the time to check on their health. Breaking the stigma around health, both physical and mental, along with increasing access and services across the country and in particular the rural areas is key to improving farmer health.

IFA will be rolling out Farmer Health Checks across the country between July and October, so check out the Farm Health Checks for more information.

Quad Safety

The use of ATV/Quad Bikes is becoming more and more common on farms and forests and for many other sectors such as road works, airports, military ATV’s/Quads are essential pieces of equipment. However, there have been a significant number of fatalities involving quads and the potential for a serious injury or fatality when using a quad is high.

Regulations governing the safe use of ATV/ Quad Bikes in all workplaces (SI 619/2021) came into effect on 20 November 2023.

These regulations have 2 essential requirements

Training to be undertaken with a registered training provider to a QQI standard or equivalent
Use of helmets to a (generally) prescribed standard.

Persons who undertake ATV/Quad Bike training must ensure that:

The training provider used, is a registered training provider, registered with a registration body such as QQI, ABA, Lantra, City & Guilds or others such registered training bodies.
On successful completion of the training course, they receive a certificate of training that confirms that the course was successfully completed to the QQI standard 5N1752 or equivalent
They retain and show when requested their training certificate as proof of training.

IFA held a Quad Safety Training Information Webinar. Recording of webinar can be found at www.ifa.ie/quadsafety.

Check out our Quad Safety Awareness document here

Sepsis Awareness

Sepsis is a potential complication from any infection no matter how trivial. Although the majority of infections are self-limiting, sepsis can develop particularly in the elderly and in those with chronic illnesses. Recognizing potential symptoms and seeking early treatment is key to achieving the best outcomes’.

Sepsis can develop quickly, sometimes within hours. Farmers may delay seeking help, especially during busy seasons, but that delay could be fatal.

Know the signs of sepsis according to the HSE:

S – Slurred speech and/or confusion
E – Extreme shivering, muscle pain, fever
P – Not passing urine
S – Shortness of breath and/or fast heart rate
I – If it feels like you are going to die
S – Skin that looks blotchy or a rash

When in doubt – seek help. Call your GP or emergency services if you suspect sepsis. For more information on sepsis, visit www.hse.ie/sepsis

Animal Handling

HSA’s Safe Handling of Cattle on Farms Leaflet – Safe Handling of Cattle on Farms Information Sheet

Child Safety

Where we understand how a farm can have such appeal to a young child, we must always be mindful that a farm is not a playground. For those times when children might be visiting the farm ensure they are supervised and only exposed to jobs that are age appropriate.

Farm Safe Schools – Champions Top Farm Safety Tips

Health and Wellbeing Tips

The IFA have put together a guide for farmers around the stress. Stress plays a huge part in farm safety and this guide gives tips on identifying and coping with stress. See the full guide here.

The Health and Safety Authority are highlighting farmers’ health and wellbeing as a crucial aspect to farm safety. Here is their Guide to Staying Healthy While Farming.

HSA Code of Practice

The Health and Safety Authority are the ruling body regarding safety in the workplace including farms. This Code of Practice applies only to on-farm work activities and their potential impact on children and young persons.

Visit the HSA website to access their full resources aimed to educate and grow awareness regarding children’s safety on and around a farm.