First Milk has announced it has entered a new partnership with AgriGuardian to provide its members with an award-winning farm safety app free of charge.

The farmers' co-op, which has a creamery in Haverfordwest, aims to address the leading causes of injury on farms. The app operates in a way suited to the busy and variable nature of farming.

It is based on the concept of a guardian (usually the farmer) keeping protected users (often children or the infirm) safe around the farm through a system of alerts.

Farmers can use the app to set up alert zones around the farm, highlighting safe zones and danger zones (e.g. near a slurry pit or where tractors are regularly operating). These zones can be adapted based on the time of day and the protected user.

An alert is triggered if a protected user’s mobile or smartwatch leaves a safe zone or enters a danger zone, and continues to sound until acknowledged.

In addition, the app provides further safety protection, with a proximity feature warning a guardian when a protected user comes within approximately 40m of the guardian’s device – particularly useful in high noise zones. It also offers an anchoring feature – literally the reverse of the above – designed to virtually ‘tether’ protected users to a guardian, and sounding an alert if they stray more than 40m.

Commenting on the announcement, Mark Brooking, Chief Impact Officer and Membership Director, First Milk, said: “Farm vehicles and moving machinery cause more than half the fatalities on UK farms, and many accident reports suggest the whereabouts of those involved simply wasn’t known.

“By covering the app’s subscription costs for our members, we are facilitating a simple way for them to dramatically improve farm safety and reduce the risk of accidents on their farms. All they need is a smart phone or smart watch for the individuals they wish to protect, and affordable options are available from AgriGuardian suited to children, making this a very accessible and simple solution to a major problem facing our industry.”

In addition to this initiative, First Milk is working with the Farm Safety Foundation, Yellow Wellies, to promote downloadable resources for staying safe on farm and protecting mental health.