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Farm Safety Week: A Blog from our Head of Central Agriculture

15 July 2019

Nothing is more important to our business than the safety of everyone involved in our industry, from British Sugar colleagues, to our growers, to contractors throughout our supply chain.

We’re proud of our role within the communities in which we operate, and the benefits that the British beet sugar industry can bring, but central to that is a clear principle – nothing we do is worth getting hurt for. We want everyone to return home safely and uninjured at the end of their days work. Safety is firmly embedded in our business culture, and something we are continually reflecting on where we can do things better and spot potential risks sooner.

We work with 3,000 growers across the UK and know just how important it is to focus on staying safe and well in farming communities. As the sole processor of the UK’s sugar beet crop we have an important part to play in influencing the safety culture within the beet sector, from the crop being planted, to harvesting and delivery to one of our four factories, and the processing that takes place there.

As part of this, we actively support the UK Power Networks Be Bright Stay Safe campaign encouraging those working on farm and elsewhere to ensure they know the location of overhead electricity power lines in their work area prior to starting work, and the safe minimum working distances from them. Some agricultural equipment is particularly large and can easily encroach on the recommended exclusion zone around power lines. This important initiative has been crucial in raising awareness of a serious potential hazard on farm, and we will continue to promote it to growers to encourage them to act accordingly and take precautions.

We’re really pleased to be supporting Farm Safety Week, an excellent initiative to raise awareness of the importance of safety on farm, and sharing best practice across farming communities.

We urge all our growers to continue to remain vigilant to risks, and to reflect on anything they can be doing to ensure that the working environment is as safe as it can be.

Nick Morris

Head of Central Agriculture