Farm Safety Week for 2025 takes place from Monday 21st July to Friday 25th July. This is the 13th annual running of Farm Safety Week, John McNamara, Teagasc Health and Safety Specialist tells us what we can expect this year.

Objectives of Farm Safety Week in 2025

• Raise awareness of the importance of farm health and safety.
• Encourage everyone in the farming community to take positive steps to improve their attitudes and behaviours towards health and safety.
• Highlight the importance of wearing PPE, especially eye protection, when carrying out a variety of farming tasks.
• Highlight the critical importance of the safe operation of agricultural vehicles, particularly quad bikes.
• Celebrate Farm Safety Heroes who work to drive positive change in the farming sector related to farm health and safety.

Farm Safety Week is a UK & Ireland awareness campaign organised by the UK-based charity Farm Safety Foundation, also known as Yellow Wellies. The campaign runs in England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, with farming organisations taking the lead.

In Ireland, Farm Safety Week takes place against the backdrop of increased farm workplace deaths, with 12 fatal accidents occurring so far in 2025 (provisional figure to 15th July), compared to 12 for the full year in 2024, and an average of 16 over the past five years. All fatal accidents represent a tragedy for the bereaved. In addition, Teagasc NFS has estimated that over 4,500 injury-causing farm accidents occur each year, leading to pain and suffering, disability, and farming loss.

Teagasc will be strongly supporting Farm Safety Week and will be sending clear messages to the farming community based on this year’s themes through its communication channels and at advisory events.

Teagasc will be holding a series of five Farmyard Design Events during Farm Safety Week, where farm safety will be emphasised in a holistic way alongside other farmyard design considerations, including working routines, vehicle and livestock movement, animal welfare, and protecting the environment. The Teagasc NFS Farm Safety Survey has found that 78% of farm injuries occur in farmyards and farm buildings, so making improvements in this area is vital to reduce farm accident levels. Find out more about the Farmyard Design and Infrastructure events taking place across Ireland here.

A key theme of Farm Safety Week will be to improve attitudes and behaviours towards safety. Accident analysis shows that over 90% of all accidents have at least one behavioural cause. Teagasc encourages farmers to give safety top priority when planning to complete any farming task involving a hazard. If a task is not being carried out safely, halt the task and implement adequate safety measures before resuming the work. Teagasc will be requesting all advisors to have a positive discussion with farmers during advisory visits.

Find out more about Farm Safety Week by following Teagasc social media updates using the hashtag #FarmSafetyWeek.