The 2024 Child Farm Safety Calendar has been launched at Denamona Primary School, Fintona.

The Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) launching the calendar with the theme, ‘Avoid Harm on the Farm’.

Focuses on the four key dangers on farms, namely Slurry, Animals, Falls, and Equipment, the calendar features potentially lifesaving farm-safety messages for children in rural primary, and special, schools across Northern Ireland.

It features 12 winning hand-drawn pictures which were selected from more than 2,260 entries, with each winning junior artist receiving a £50 gift card and having their picture included in the 2024 calendar.

More than 28,000 copies of the calendar are set to be distributed exclusively to rural primary schools and special schools for children to take home.

Launching the calendar at Denamona PS, HSENI Chief Executive Robert Kidd said: “Farming is one of the most dangerous occupations in Northern Ireland.

“While we have various streams of work ongoing with the wider farming community, our calendar competition continues to be a fantastic way to deliver farm safety messages in an engaging way directly to children.

“This year we had entries from 78 schools, and I am convinced that, by engaging with children at an early age, we will help form their approach to farm safety now and in the future.

“We are enormously grateful for the support we receive from our rural schools for the competition. An enormous thank-you goes to everyone who took part,” he added.

The competition was launched in June and was open to rural primary school pupils (foundation, Key Stage 1, and Key Stage 2) and pupils from special schools.

The calendar was sponsored by Farm Safety Partnership members and affiliates, Abbey Autoline, NFU Mutual, PowerNI, Ulster Farmers Union, Northern Ireland Safety Group, DAERA, LANTRA, and the Northern Health and Social Care Trust.

For further information about child safety on farms, see www.hseni.gov.uk/farmsafety.