The royal seal of approval was given to the importance of farm safety as the Countess of Wessex attended Agrifest South West.

The Countess of Wessex visited the NFU Mutual team to discuss the rising numbers of farm accidents in the south west and how, by educating and informing young farmers, this health and safety knowledge will be instilled in them throughout their careers.

Phil Chalker, of NFU Mutual Risk Management Services said: “We were thrilled to welcome the Countess of Wessex and explain to her how NFU Mutual is endeavouring to minimise accidents on farms by encouraging good health and safety practice, particularly amongst farmers of the future, and making safety become completely intuitive to them.

“We ran a number of demonstrations with potential scenarios from the farm environment - including quad bike safety, telehandlers and straw chopping - as these help students and young farmers learn how to react to a range of incidents.”

On Wednesday November 8, thousands of people attended the annual event at Westpoint Exeter.

Phil continued: “We were also explaining the benefits of the NFU Mutual SafetyHub to attendees at the event, an online safety risk management service designed to help small farms actively manage the risks in their businesses and comply with health and safety legislation.

“We understand that every farm is different, so this platform offers bespoke best practice advice that will be easily applicable to day-to-day situations. It’s initiatives like this that help to stop accidents before they happen.”

Organised by the National Beef Association South West, Agrifest is a festival of British agriculture which showcases the breadth and depth of quality breeding and production.