Tipp’s Farm Safety Community Champion
Irish Rural Link has announced the launch of its new farm safety initiative focused on combatting labour and isolation concerns on Irish farms. Funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the Farm Safety Community Champion programme will equip local communities with a representative to act as a Champion for farmer safety and wellbeing by offering rural citizens an opportunity to reach out and offer support. One of these newly announced champions is Nenagh’s Mary Oakley.
Mary Oakley is a coach, mentor and community builder from Tipperary with a passion for supporting the people behind the business. Raised on a farm and having personally experienced the highs and lows of farming life, Mary’s dedication to wellbeing is deeply rooted in caring for individuals behind both farming and non-farming ventures. As a Farm Safety and Wellbeing Mentor with the Farmers4Safety – Managing Risk Together project from early 2022 to March 2023, she supported farm families through peer-to-peer mentoring, on-site visits and tailored safety guidance.
Mary also draws on her lived experience of neurodiversity within her family, along with her volunteer work with Parent line as a listener and a Nonviolent Resistance trainer. Her approach is grounded in empathy, practicality, and empowerment.
Champions of the Community
The programme consists of the training of nine regionally spread Farm Safety Community Champions from various backgrounds including farming, teaching, and community mentoring. These champions will develop networks in their regions to connect farmers to their communities, delivering farm safety and well-being talks at local marts and community centres. To support this, a manual has been created to guide these talks, which will include resources for local individuals to learn more about the programme and the steps they can take to encourage connection with farmers in their society.
The Farmer’s Haggart
To further bolster this initiative and assist with growing workforce concerns, Irish Rural Link is calling on rural communities to organise a ‘Farmer’s Haggart’ as part of this programme. The Farmer’s Haggart is led by a local Farm Safety Community Champion and will encourage farmers to assist one another in simple tasks on the farm. The goal of this is to foster local connections between farmers to further develop rural farming networks, and support community wellbeing.
Irish Rural Link, CEO, Seamus Boland said: “The need for community has never been so important for farmers. With fluctuations in the market, inconsistent weather, and growing isolation, having the Farm Safety Community Champions will help build out our farming networks for a more connected rural society. We hope to see local communities take this as an opportunity support, strengthen, and sustain relationships with and between farmers for a more inclusive future.”
Get involved?
You can find your local Farm Safety Community Champion on the Farmers4Safety website, and information on how you can organise a Farmer’s Haggart event within your community.