Farm safety and skills training key themes at Royal Welsh Winter Fair

Inspiring safe practices on Welsh farms will be a key aim of the Wales Farm Safety Partnership (WFSP) when it hosts a series of activities in collaboration with Farming Connect at the 2023 Royal Welsh Winter Fair.

Farming Connect, in a joint initiative with WFSP has invited Welsh agricultural colleges and also secondary schools that offer agriculture on their curriculum to the Lantra Building at the Llanelwedd showground to hear a presentation by Brian Rees, a farmer who is also a Farming Connect trainer and mentor in health and safety.

Brian will deliver talks at 11am and 2pm on Monday 27th and Tuesday 28th November on farm health and safety, including ATV driving and working at heights.

More generally, the WFSP will be located at its usual stand in the Glamorgan Hall, where it will run a daily competition with the chance to win an ATV helmet.

Staff will also be handing out everything from new-style farm safety signs and a booklet aimed at children to the reading book, Diolch byth am Bob!

Meanwhile, Farming Connect will be positioned on the balcony above the cattle ring, while in the Lantra Building, a special event in Room 1 will see training providers promoting their training courses and engaging with the public.

Providers will run interactive demonstrations – on Monday it will be the turn of IBERS, JHS Ltd, PMR Ltd, NPTC and Simply the Best Training Ltd and on Tuesday, IBERS, Coleg Sir Gar, mwmac Ltd, Insynch and St John Ambulance.

An ATV supplied by Smithfield Tractors will be used to promote safety messages on the use of these vehicles.

Sarah Lewis, deputy director of Lantra Wales, said that support will be available to complete a Personal Development Plan (PDP) and e-learning modules and for submitting funding applications.

It will be necessary that individuals are registered with Farming Connect to use this service. Visitors will need to bring their BOSS log-in details to access support.