11 January, 2012

Cutting the number of deaths and serious injuries on Devon and Cornwall's farms will be the main focus of practical workshops being supported by Cornish Mutual, working in association with Duchy College next month. 

Running under the South West Regional Skills Programme delivered by Duchy College Rural Business School, the events in both counties will target farmers and agricultural workers and are aimed at highlighting health and safety issues. 

According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), agriculture has the worst record for deaths and serious injuries compared to any other UK industry, including construction. There were eight fatalities and 2,120 people suffered major injuries in the South West during 2010/11. 

The two events will be delivered by Duchy College trainers, who are Lantra approved, and will cover a whole range of subjects, such as working at heights, manual handling, safe use of farm machinery, electrocution and handling livestock. 

Practical demonstrations will also be given on how to deal with entrapment and machinery blockages and what precautions to take around chemicals and dust. As part of the rural insurer's new 'Farmsafe' initiative, Cornish Mutual will be working with Duchy College to host the training events, which makes the workshops free to farmers. 

The Cornwall event will be held on Wednesday 15 February at Duchy College Stoke Climsland, near Callington and the Devon event will be held on Thursday 16 February at Willey Farm, Sticklepath, near Okehampton - both will run between 10.30am and 3.30pm. Lunch and refreshments will be provided. 

Alan Goddard, Managing Director of Cornish Mutual, says: "As a responsible insurer working in the region's rural communities, reducing the number of deaths and serious injuries on South West farms is the number one priority for us. We place a huge importance on good practice and that's why we've launched our new 'Farmsafe' initiative to raise more awareness of the seriousness of the issue. We're delighted to be working with Duchy College and the HSE to support these workshops. We would encourage anyone involved in agriculture to sign up for a place." 

Andrew Counsell, Head of Duchy College, adds: "The Rural Business School at Duchy College has been delivering vocational training events and short courses to farmers across the South West for over 10 years. We work to ensure that the training is always timely and relevant, meeting the needs of the industry. The latest report on farm deaths from the HSE highlights the dangerous nature of many tasks farmers carry out and we are pleased to have been able to help make this training available through the South West Regional Skills Programme." 

It is anticipated that around 100 people will attend each event - there are some places still available, however, they will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis. If you would like to attend either event, contact Verity Dodd at Cornish Mutual on 01872 246481 or by email marketing@cornishmutual.co.uk.