ONE of Australia’s leading fodder feed companies wants hay safety to be given the same priority as pool safety.

Feed Central is playing its part in improving hay safety with the release today of a new video and poster that walks people through the safe delivery, unloading and storing of hay.

The video and poster were prepared for Hay Safety Day 2021.

Feed Central general manager Cieran Maxwell said the video focuses on the safe movement and receival of hay with important safety tips on unloading, stacking and storing of hay. Mr Maxwell said hay safety sometimes is an overlooked risk.

“There are a number of people injured or killed every year from incidents with hay bales. Forgetting or even letting some of the basic safety essentials slip can cause devastating results.

“Young families with children need to treat a haystack like a swimming pool; you have to be safe around it.”

This era of high-density balers and heavier bales increases the importance of safety full stop.

“With high-density bales now consistently ranging between 550-750 kilos, if a bale falls on you from any height, you’re unlikely going to survive.”

Mr Maxwell said the video highlights the need for checking truck loads before removing straps and good practice in moving bales, building stacks and storing bales.

“It’s an area of concern. Any movement of hay bales is risky but when dealing with multiple bales coming off trucks, everyone in the vicinity is further exposed to a higher risk,” he said.

Mr Maxwell said farmers, contractors, employees, family and children need to be aware of safety around hay bales.

“If stacks aren’t made right, falling bales can be extremely dangerous, in this video we talk about getting it right from the start and from the ground up.”

He added that the “look up and live” message about power lines could equally apply to a shed with Hay bale stacks.

Mr Maxwell said the more solid bales are made, the safer they are to work with, but that of course relies on the consistency of quality, well-shaped, tight bales.

The poster and hay safety video will be available for free on Monday October 25 on the Feed Central website: https://www.feedcentral.com.au/hay-safety-day-2021

Stockyard Beef and Manitou Australia partnered with Feed Central to make the video which was filmed at the Kerwee Feedlot.