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Farming Today: Farm safety, Oxford Farming Conference, Oxford Real Farming Conference

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Farm safety, Oxford Farming Conference, Oxford Real Farming Conference

BBC Radio 4 - Farming Today, Farm safety, Oxford Farming Conference, Oxford Real Farming Conference

Charlotte Smith finds resistance to change is at the heart of ongoing farm safety issues

We hear from a Farm Safety Foundation course raising awareness amongst young farmers - and kick off a week broadcasting from Oxford, at the city's January agricultural conferences.

Farm safety seems to be a continuing problem for the agricultural sector. According to the Health and Safety Executive, an average of 32 workers are killed in the industry every year. And although farm workers represent just 1% of the Great British workforce, they account for 20% of workplace fatalities. 

Charity organisation The Farm Safety Foundation is trying to change that, with a safety course targeting the younger generation. Heather Simons joins students at Bridgwater and Taunton College, as they inspected a mocked-up accident scene. We also hear from Luke Messenger from the Health and Safety Executive's agricultural safety team, to find out how they're trying to address on-farm fatalities.

Meanwhile Farming Today kicks off a week broadcasting from Oxford, at the city's January agricultural conferences: the Oxford Farming Conference, which has been running since 1936; and the Oxford Real Farming Conference, celebrating its 10th year as the self-confessed "antidote to the official Farming Conference".
Charlotte gets the OFC overview from Oxfordshire farmer and agricultural journalist Tom Allen-Stevens, the Oxford Farming Conference chairman. Then ahead of the Oxford Real Farming Conference's start tomorrow, she asks co-founder Ruth West how the event has evolved over its 10-year history.

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