Tag Archives: farming

PROTESTS are continuing at the Kepak plant in Tiermaclane this afternoon, despite agreement being reached that the Beef Plan Movement and Meat Industry Ireland enter into talks on Monday. The Tiermaclane protest is no longer being run by Beef Plan, and when the Clare Champion visited the site this afternoon, there were still a number of demonstrators there, while the gates of the plant are locked. Joseph Woulfe is Chair of the Beef Plan movement in the county, but at the site today, he said that Beef Plan are no longer co-ordinating the protest. “People are coming who aren’t members of anything, they’re just coming to air what’s going on with them.” While there are reports today that meetings aimed at resolving the situation will take place on Monday, Mr Woulfe said he has very little information as yet. “I had a message on the phone, saying to stand down and we’re talking to Creed and this kind of thing. …

A 68 year old man died following a farming accident in Cooraclare on Thursday morning. The man,  who was from Cooraclare, has been named locally as Paddy Clohessy. The accident occurred while loading cattle. He died at University Hospital Limerick. A post mortem is to be carried out today and the Health and Safety Authority has launched an investigation. The deceased man was helping out on a farm when the accident occurred. In 2018, 15 people died in Ireland from farm related accidents. The figure in 2017 was 25.

THE estuary village of Labasheeda was hit by tragedy on Tuesday night, when a local man, Michael McGrath, died following a farming accident. Mr McGrath, who is in his early 50s, was loading slurry on his farm in the townland of Ballina, when the accident happened between 7.15pm and 7.30pm. Ambulances, the fire service and Kilrush gardaí attended the scene, where the man was pronounced dead. He was well-known in the area and lived in Labasheeda with his partner and their four year-old daughter. The tractor involved in the accident has been removed for inspection and separate enquiries are being carried out by the gardaí and the Health and Safety Authority. This fatality brings to 14 the number of confirmed deaths on Irish farms in 2017. Last week, Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed appealed to farmers to prioritise farm safety during this busy period. Peter O’Connell  

THE Health and Safety Authority (HSA) are today beginning an investigation after an incident yesterday in which a bull injured three men at Ennis mart. The incident occurred yesterday morning and the bull has since been put down while two of the men remain in hospital. A HSA spokesman said that their inspector will be at the mart today, to investigate the incident. Clare Marts released a brief statement on Friday morning. “Clare Marts confirms an incident took place in the Ennis Mart on Thursday, May 25 at the point of intake of animals.  Three men were injured and taken to hospital and two men remain in hospital.  All agencies were notified of the incident.”  

THE Clare Champion’s Dan Danaher has been nominated for a 2016 Agricultural Journalism Award. Organised by the Guild of Agricultural Journalists, these bi-annual awards seek to encourage excellence in the coverage of farming, food and rural life in Ireland. Mr Danaher is one of three nominated for the Best Print Feature award, for his coverage of the 60th anniversary of the Clare IFA. In November of last year, Dan was responsible for over two pages of coverage of the milestone. There were 55 entries in the category and he has been shortlisted alongside Declan O’Brien of the Farming Independent and Patrick Donohoe of the Irish Farmers Journal. Dan acknowledged he is an admirer of the work done by the IFA. “There are a lot of volunteers who play an active role who are not paid and who do a lot of  work on behalf of the members.” Speaking about his coverage of the 60th anniversary, he said one of his …

A PART-time farmer from Spancilhill has developed a unique weather app, which provides farmers with on-farm alerts, included weather alerts, which aids them in planning their agricultural work. Dr John Garvey, senior lecturer in risk management and insurance at the University of Limerick, created FarmHedge, a free smart-phone app. “The weather alerts are specific to the farm location and they relate short-term forecasts to the 10-year normal for that location to provide information on grass growth, animal health risks and other farm activities,” he explained. John’s experience on the family farm in Spancilhill encouraged him to think about how farmers could use better weather information to help them plan their work. The very cold spring of 2013 and subsequent fodder crisis led John to think about better risk-management systems that could be made available to farmers. He began developing the app in UL, with funding from Enterprise Ireland. “I wanted farmers to have highly local and accurate weather information that …

This week is the fourth annual Farm Safety Week, an initiative aimed at reducing the number of farm accidents. At the moment, the agriculture industry has the poorest safety record of any occupation in Ireland and the UK. During Farm Safety Week (4-8 July) there will be five days of themed practical farm safety advice and guidance asking farmers to consider ‘Who would fill your boots?’ if an accident occurred on the farm. Macra na Feirme continues to show leadership in our work to promote farm safety. We work with all stakeholders on the Farm Safety Partnership to promote the safety message. Macra na Feirme have partnered with the Farm Contractors of Ireland to roll out a safe tractor driving course through the Young Farmer Skillnet Training Programme. The training programme is compiling a practical farm safety skills course which will be launched shortly and deliver practical safety training to young farmers. Macra na Feirme partners with IFAC Accountants for …

Good weather is perfect for opportunistic criminals, the IFA has warned in appealing to farmers and householders in general not to let their guard down. IFA Rural Crime Prevention Executive, Colin Connolly, said, “As we are enjoying the current good weather it is important to be extra vigilant about your home security. Don’t assume because you are at home, your property is safe. In many burglaries I attended as a garda, the homeowner was present, and perhaps in the rear of the house or garden, at the time of the crime. “We are all opening up our homes, sheds and garages to let in the sun after a long hard winter but it’s important to be mindful of criminals who will be canvassing the area for an opportunity to strike. Lock windows on the ground floor level. Ensure that, if you are opening windows on the first floor, they cannot be entered from a porch, drain pipe or a ladder …