Farm Safety and Health Awareness Days

• Dates of SHADs

Safety and Health Awareness Days (SHADs) are practical demonstrations covering the everyday hazards that those who farm face.

HSE has run over 140 of these events in the past ten years, which have been attended by over 43,000 people throughout England, Scotland and Wales. The audience is usually made up of family farmers, the self employed and those employing up to four workers.

Five or six practical demonstrations make up each half day session of a SHAD. These are delivered mainly by LANTRA instructors, who have an industry background or are themselves farmers. The demonstrations cover health and safety topics that are the top cause of death and injury in the industry such as transport, falls, livestock handling and manual handling.

Each demonstration shows good practice that anyone working on a farm can use after the event to spot and deal with potential dangers.

Attendance is voluntary and free of charge, with lunch and refreshments provided.
Several hundred local farmers and those working with them are invited to attend the half-day event (morning or afternoon session). They are split into smaller groups to walk around the different demonstrations. Smaller groups mean that there is a proper opportunity to ask questions at the end of each demonstration and for those people in the group to share their experiences and learn from one another.

Free information and guidance is available during the day. Those attending can take leaflets and brochures home with them which may be shared with other workers or family members.
Research shows that a majority of those who attend a SHAD make at least one change to improve health and safety on the farm as a result and almost all would recommend them to another person.

Too many farmers are dying as a result of work activities. A SHAD provides an excellent opportunity for those working on farms get practical advice free of charge from trained instructors with an industry background and take often simple and cheap precautions to avoid people being killed, injured or made ill on their farm.

Attendance at a SHAD is by invitation so we can arrange suitable facilities and refreshments. If you would like to attend one of the events listed, please contact the organiser indicated.