During another successful series of summer safety events across central southern England, our Safety Team, along with representatives of the National Farmers Union (NFU) have been reminding hundreds of farmers, contractors and landowners to put their safety first.
Our annual farm safety campaign - ‘Look out, look up, look after yourself’ - is shaped by ongoing, direct engagement with farming communities and organisations such as the NFU, helping to highlight vital safety messaging during one of the busiest periods in the agricultural calendar.
Through this close connection, our Safety Team has been able to speak face-to-face to almost 350 farmers and contractors at NFU safety talks over the summer months and to share practical advice on working safely around the overhead power lines and poles of its electricity infrastructure.
WATCH: "Seven deaths in seven weeks"; Why the NFU and SSEN focus so much on farm safety.
Held across our central southern England distribution area, the team has met hundreds of members of the farming community across counties including Buckinghamshire, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, West Sussex and Wiltshire; reinforcing the importance of planning ahead, staying aware of surroundings and knowing what to do in an emergency.
The campaign has also been supported again this year by radio, trade press, digital and social media advertising - helping to reach and remind farmers and farm workers throughout the busy harvest season of the steps they can take to stay safe when working near the network.
Jason Black, SSEN’s Operational Safety Manager for Distribution says:
“Each year, our 'Look out, look up, look after yourself,' campaign and safety messaging is always well received by the farming community. We tailor our safety messages and campaigns to make sure they are relatable to farmers and we look at a variety of ways to do that.
“We’re delighted to have been part of the NFU safety events this year, directly bringing our safety messages to nearly 350 farmers and contractors throughout the summer sessions. It’s through these conversations that we are keeping that vital safety messaging in mind – from planning an initial risk assessment to returning home safely at the end of the working day.”
Jason continues:
“While we’re continuing to see a reduction in non-injury incidents across farms and fields in our central southern England distribution area, we want to keep bringing that number down, so we’ll keep asking farmers, landowners and their contractors to be aware of their surroundings and potential hazards, and to prioritise their own wellbeing – not just for this harvest season, but for the whole of the year."
Nathan Boyd, NFU’s County Adviser for Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire adds:
“Working with organisations such as SSEN is vital when the aim is to improve health and safety on our farms. This year’s talks have proved to be hard hitting and show the true dangers of not taking the correct precautions when working in your fields around power lines, while at the same time providing a safe space for farmers to raise concerns around the power network and what they can do to mitigate the risks.
“It’s great to have a team at SSEN that understands the harvest pressures farmers are under, especially in a hot, dry year like this one.”