by in News
June 30, 2017
Launch of the Revised Farming Code of Practice

Representing agricultural contractors and as a long standing member of the Farm Safety Partnership Advisory Committee, Tom Murphy attended the launch of the Revised Code of Practice for Preventing Injury and Occupational Ill Health in Agriculture. This took place on 28th June at Teagasc, Oakpark, Co. Carlow during the Crops and Cultivation Event.  The revised code comprises just two documents, a general guidance document and a working risk assessment.  This will come into operation on July 1st 2017 and the old version will be phased out over a period of 18 months.  The revised code has been developed to reflect technical progress in the sector and accident trends. There are separate sections focusing on ‘Slurry Handling’ and ‘Harvesting’ with updated references to legislation and guidance.  New recommendations and approaches to farm building maintenance are also included.Launching the Code Martin O’Halloran, Chief Executive of the HSA, said “the farm safety code of practice is the cornerstone of farm safety, health and wellbeing and we wanted to make it more reflective of modern farming and easier for farmers to use.  The revised code focuses in on the most common hazards and provides workable solutions that can be put implemented with minimal to zero cost.”  Professor Gerry Boyle, Director of Teagasc said: “We have collaborated closely with the HSA on this and it was important to us that whatever came out of the process was an improvement on the existing code. This update has definitely achieved that and it will be of huge benefit to educators and advisors in the farming sector.”