Cultivate Press Release
30 May, 2023Cultivate’s Commitment to Farm Safety during Silage Season
This is a busy time of year for farmers with silage harvesting already underway on many farms across County Meath. With an increased level of activity on farms it is important to keep farm safety front of mind. Cultivate is committed to helping our farming members make their farms safer.
To ensure a safe silage harvest, check all your machinery is in a good state of repair and is fully serviced with all protective guards in place before work begins. Communicate with your contractor to put a safe system of work in place, the routes taken by machinery should be known and warning signs should be put up near entrances to fields and farmyards.
Children on farms should be supervised closely to ensure their safety, especially at this time of year. 21 children were killed on Irish farms from 2011 to 2020 with machinery and tractors being the main cause.
Speaking on behalf of Cultivate from St Colmcilles (Kells) Credit Union Ltd, Margaret Smith CEO commented on the importance of farm safety and how a Cultivate loan can be used to make improvements leading to improved farm safety,
“The Cultivate team here in Kells Credit Union cannot overstate the importance of farm safety to all our members. Farm vehicles and machinery account for the highest proportion of farm deaths and injuries, making up almost half of all fatalities and incidents from 2012 to 2021. If there are upgrades that can be made to general farm management and practices to improve safety on farm, then we strongly encourage our farmer members to get in touch to discuss their financing needs.”
Cultivate is the collaborative credit union finance lending platform for farmers providing short to medium term loans. Participating credit unions work closely with farmer members to meet their changing needs. For any farmer who wants to find out more about how to access a Cultivate loan to improve their farm, they can email cultivate@kellscu.ie or call 046 9240299.
