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MEP Mairead McGuinness presenting the Ballyduff couple, Alan and Colette Martin, with their innovation award at the National Dairy Show. Photo: Tony Keane

Alan Martin, a farmer from Ballyduff Upper, says he had the idea for his safety platform for use in mixing and spreading slurry for years, but it was only when his own children came along, and he was even more conscious of farm safety, that he was spurred on to develop it.

The steel safety platform for use in agitating and spreading slurry from open slurry pits, is a combined initiative of Alan and his wife Colette. Their invention won them the innovation award at the recent National Dairy Show in Millstreet.

Alan told The Avondhu this week, that he and Colette were very happy with their gold medal win, as it was their first ever competition to enter with their design and it was great to win it. They now hope to market the safety platform "and see where it takes us." The project is only in its infancy, Alan explained and has only just gone to market.

The couple run an 80-cow dairy farm and are well aware of the inherent dangers and the annual statistics on farm accidents. They're even more conscious since their children, Cormac who is now seven and Alannah, five, came along. They say installation of their Slurrysafey safety platform makes the farm a safer place for children.

The platform is fitted to the concrete wall of the slurry pit. It has an agitation point and a separate entry point for the hose pipe used to extract the slurry fitted into its non-slip floor. It improves safety by removing the risk of the farmer falling in while making adjustments to the agitator. It also eliminates the danger of humans or animals falling into the pit because of a gate being left open while slurry is being spread.

The Martins say that 85% of fatalities connected to slurry pits have been from drowning which is why they've concentrated on improving safety around their use.

The couple received funding under the Rural Development Programme and were supported by Waterford Leader Partnership in developing their idea. Their website http://slurrysafe.com has more information or they can be emailed at info@slurrysafe.ie

Meanwhile, Ballynoe Agri Services took their third major prize in recent months at the National Dairy Show innovation awards, coming second to receive the silver medal for their 'Inspect 4' hydraulic turnover hoof paring crate. The idea for the crate came from Maeve O'Keeffe, the 23-year-old daughter of owners Eddie and Linda. They manufacture the crate themselves at their steel and fabrication company. Their website is www.ballynoeagriservices.com

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