Little Laois boy wins national farm art competition

A little boy from Laois has won in the age 4 to 6 category of a national Farm Safety Week art competition.

Evan Maloney is from Stradbally and drew this lovely poster of a John Deere tractor in action near a pedestrian with the serious warning 'mind your blindspots'. 

He was chosen as a winner in the Teagasc Jessy’s Farm Safety Champions Competition.

"Evan cleverly sent us a picture to highlight the dangers of blind spots when using machinery.  Up to 50% of fatalities in agriculture involve a farm vehicle, or machinery, and Evan did great to highlight this."

The art competition was held to celebrate the end of school term and highlight safety during the recent Farm Safety Week.  Jessy the Sheep Dog, Teagasc Farm Safety mascot and her friends ran the competition in which 4 lucky winners were chosen to receive a toy shop voucher.

The competition was used to raise awareness among children of the dangers and risks around a farm, and to encourage farm families to think about farm safety.  

Teagasc were very pleased with the response to the competition receiving over 100 entries, and thanked everyone who went to the huge effort of entering.

Teagasc Farm Safety Specialist is Francis Bligh.

“We were overwhelmed with the response to our competition and delighted to have received such high quality entries from all the children who entered.   The judges and I had a difficult task to whittle down the entries to three category winners and one overall winner, all which highlighted staying safe on Irish farms. Congratulations to all the winners.”

Isabelle submitted a very colourful and creative 4 in 1 picture.  Isabelle says ‘Don’t be daft, stay away from the PTO shaft’. Unguarded parts in machinery like PTO shafts are one of the main causes of farm accidents and it is important that machinery being used is suitable for the task, properly maintained with all dangerous parts covered. All machinery should be serviced and maintained on a regular basis. 

Isabelle also used a drawing of a horse to highlight the dangers of blind spots, a striking ‘Beware of the Bull’ image, and an image highlighting hygiene and sanitation around the farmyard.  

Cillian Murphy from Newport Mayo was the 7-9 Category Winner.

Aoife Gallagher, from Gort, Galway is the aged 10-12 Category Winner

All of the entrants will receive an official Jessy’s Farm Safety Champion certification and a goody pack from Teagasc along with runner up prizes sponsored by Agrikids.