Safety at silage time

Silage season is underway and farmers and contractors around the country are very busy with what is potentially a very dangerous activity – silage making. It’s imperative that farmers and contractors avoid rushing the job; not taking enough time and care can result in disastrous consequences. The repercussions of serious accidents extend beyond physical harm, affecting the quality of life, mental health, and financial well-being of those affected and their families.

Good planning and safety management are key to ensuring that silage harvesting is carried out in a safe manner. Farmers and contractors need to be aware of the dangers associated with this activity and take the necessary precautions to reduce the risks. Additional care is required where there are children living on or visiting the farm. Children should never be present when silage-making activities are ongoing, and farmers should ensure they are adequately supervised at all times.

Tractor and machinery safety

Over the 10-year period 2014-2023, 51 per cent of all fatal farm accidents involved farm vehicles and machinery, 44 per cent involved vehicles (83 fatalities) and 7 per cent machinery (13 fatalities). Seventy per cent of all farm fatalities involved persons aged 55 years or older. The powerful vehicles and machinery used during silage-making pose the greatest danger and particular attention should be given to ensuring that tractors, trailers, mowers, harvesters and balers are maintained in good condition, adequately guarded and only used by competent trained operators.

Most tractor accidents are caused because of inexperienced operators, speed, lack of concentration, steep gradient, poor driver vision, unguarded parts and poor mechanical condition of tractor and/or trailer. Because of this, it is essential that measures are taken to avoid each of these hazards. Special attention must be given to ensure all brakes are serviced on tractors and trailers as there have been a significant number of serious and fatal accident due to brakes not working adequately.

Before attempting to clear blockages in balers, switch off the engine, disengage the PTO and wait until all rotating parts have stopped moving. Where possible, install reverse drive mechanisms to allow blockages to be cleared without manual intervention.

Fatigue – a major factor

Fatigue is more than feeling tired; it is a decline in mental and/or physical performance, generally, due to insufficient sleep. It can be caused by sleep loss, extended wakefulness, high workload or disruption of your internal body clock. Fatigue reduces your ability to carry out your work safely and effectively. Noticing the signs and symptoms of fatigue in yourself is an important first step to enable you to do something about it. You may notice fatigue because you make more mistakes, make poor judgements and take greater risks. To help reduce fatigue it is important that you manage your workload, get adequate sleep, stay hydrated and take regular breaks.

Drive safely on the road

Ensure vehicles are operated at a safe speed, well lit up and that they are maintained in a road-worthy condition. It’s essential that all lights, mirrors, indicators and wipers are fully functioning, clean and visible. Safe access and egress from all farmyards and fields must be ensured to avoid road traffic accidents. In addition, farmers and contractors must be careful not to drag muck onto the public road as this may cause vehicles to skid, lose control and or overturn.

Be vigilant of recreational users

Silage vehicles and machinery are large and wide so extra care and vigilance need to be taken on narrow country roads as recreational users could be around the next bend. We would also encourage all pedestrians and cyclists to wear high-visibility vests, use the correct side of the road, keep in a single file and listen out for road vehicles, especially when using narrow bendy country roads.

Don’t overfill pit/clamp

There’s always the temptation to fit in that extra bit of silage into the silage pit/clamp, however this can be extremely dangerous as it can result in the surrounding walls or silage pit/clamp collapsing, especially when dealing with excessively wet grass. Building the silage pit excessively high puts the operator at undue risk. As a general rule, the finished silage pit/camp should slope at no more than 45° to the retaining walls. The width across the top of the finished silage pit should be a minimum of three times the width of the loader, including dual wheels. Loader operators must be able to ensure the stability of the rolling equipment to prevent loss of control or overturns. Where silage pits/clamps are full to a safe level and where more grass is required to be harvested, the option of baled silage should be considered.

Stack bales safely

For those that are making bales, ensure that they are stacked in a safe manner, as in recent years several farmers have been fatally injured by falling bales.

Always think safety first!

Statistical sources: Health & Safety Authority data.