SUPERVISING SAFE USE OF FARM EQUIPMENT “Smart machines Safe hands Strong future.”
Farm Safe Project – Where to Find the Knowledge (on Agriculture-4-U)
All the essential safety and machinery know-how for Farm Safe lives right here on Agriculture-4-U. Each page is packed with practical explanations — think of them as your safety compass and tractor handbook in one.
🧠 🟦 Tractor Power & Horsepower
📘 What you’ll learn:
Understanding how power is measured and transmitted on the farm — what horsepower means, why it matters, and how it affects safety and performance.
👉 Learn more:
🔗 https://agriculture-4-u.co.uk/machinery-horse-power/
🚜 🟩 How Tractors Work
📘 What you’ll learn:
A down-to-earth breakdown of the mechanics behind tractors — engines, drivetrains, steering, brakes — and why knowing this helps you avoid dangerous surprises.
👉 Learn more:
🔗 https://agriculture-4-u.co.uk/machinery-tractor-workings/
🛠️ 🟨 Tractor Attachments
📘 What you’ll learn:
All about the many implements your tractor can pull or power: how they hook up, how they work, and how to use them without losing a limb.
👉 Learn more:
🔗 https://agriculture-4-u.co.uk/machinery-tractor-attachments/
🌦️ 🟧 Work Conditions & Hazards
📘 What you’ll learn:
It’s not just the machine — the environment matters. Slopes, mud, wet fields, darkness, noise, visibility… this page teaches you to read conditions and adapt safely.
👉 Learn more:
🔗 https://agriculture-4-u.co.uk/machinery-work-conditions/
📜 🟥 Machinery Legislation
📘 What you’ll learn:
Rules, regs, and legal requirements — what you must do vs what’s good practice. Covers inspections, operator qualifications, compliance and keeping the Health & Safety folks smiling.
👉 Learn more:
🔗 https://agriculture-4-u.co.uk/machinery-legislation/
🛡️ 🟪 Health & Safety Basics
📘 What you’ll learn:
The foundation of Farm Safe: risk control, PPE, safe working procedures, daily checks — the bread-and-butter of staying un-broke and un-hurt.
👉 Learn more:
🔗 https://agriculture-4-u.co.uk/health-and-safety/
📊 🟫 Risk Assessments
📘 What you’ll learn:
How to identify hazards, assess risk, and put controls in place — in a way that actually makes sense on a working farm, not just on paper.
👉 Learn more:
🔗 https://agriculture-4-u.co.uk/risk-assessments/
What part could Farm-Safe play in this?
The Project – Farm-Safe: Gears, Grease & Good Sense
This project reflects real on-farm practice. Mistakes don’t just damage machinery — they affect people, animals, crops, compliance, and costs.
🎯 Your Role in This Project
At Level 3, you are no longer just expected to operate machinery. You are expected to understand it, manage it, and take responsibility for how others use it.
For this project, you will act as a supervisor for a new Level 2 apprentice using farm equipment for the first time.
If it goes wrong, it’s not “just an accident”. It’s your planning, checks, explanations, and decisions that will be questioned.
🛠️ Equipment You May Choose
You must select ONE piece of equipment used on your farm. It must not be a road vehicle and must be covered by PUWER.
- 🐂 Cattle crush with weigh head or EID reader
- 🐑 Sheep handling system with auto drafter
- 🤖 Robotic milking unit (specific task focus)
- 🍼 Automated calf milk feeder
- 🌱 GPS-guided fertiliser spreader
- 🚜 Drill with electronic rate control
- 🌾 Grain dryer control panel
- 💦 Sprayer section control system (set-up only)
🧩 What You Need to Produce
🧠 Task 1 – Supervisor Equipment Briefing
Explain the equipment to a new apprentice:
- What it is and what it’s used for
- Who normally operates it
- What could go wrong if it’s used incorrectly
- What technology is involved and why it matters
- The worst realistic outcome if advice is ignored
📋 Task 2 – Pre-Start Checklist
Create a clear checklist a Level 2 apprentice must complete before use:
- Visual condition checks
- Guards, gates, and safety features
- Hygiene or biosecurity (where relevant)
- Technology checks and calibration
- What to do if something is not OK
⚠️ Task 3 – New User Reminder List
This is not a checklist. It is a short, blunt reminder list designed to stop common mistakes.
- Beginner errors
- Safety-critical warnings
- Technology reminders
- Animal welfare or crop protection reminders
🤖 Task 4 – Technology Explained (No Jargon)
Explain the technology as if speaking to a brand-new apprentice:
- What it does
- Why it’s worth using
- Daily care or cleaning needed
- Early warning signs of faults
If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.
⚖️ Task 5 – PUWER & Legal Responsibility
- Why this equipment falls under PUWER
- What PUWER requires for suitability, maintenance, and training
- Your responsibility if someone is injured or checks are skipped
Short answers. No waffle.
🪞 Task 6 – Reflection: Thinking Like a Supervisor
- What changed when you had responsibility for others
- What new apprentices often misunderstand
- How this reflects real farm practice
- One improvement you would make to inductions