Young farming contractors and drivers have been warned to keep their speeds low and their eyes on the road as the summer silage season appears on the horizon.

At a meeting of the County Joint Policing Committee (JPC), Cllr Andrew Reddington (FG) issued a plea to young farm workers to be careful behind the wheel.

“Silage season is open season for tragedies on farms, unfortunately,” he said.

“This is not to be going after young people – but it’s just a plea to be careful,” continued Cllr Reddington, adding that many of these young farm workers were highly skilled.

“They’re very good at it but they have to be aware that they’re driving with a huge tonnage behind them – there could be 20 or 30 tons behind them,” he said.

Community representative on the JPC, Gerry Larkin, concurred and said as June approached, a message of safety needed to be delivered to the workers – and to the contractors who employ them.

While there would be a mad rush to cut silage across the county at the same time, safety should not be sacrificed to meet the demand, he said.

“It’s important that silage contractors and the young lads they’re employing get that message – please get the young lads to slow down.

Pictured: Cllr Andrew Reddington: Silage season is a very dangerous time.