Farmers are being urged to take precautions to reduce accidental damage or injury caused by falling bale stacks, as well as fire risks caused by malicious intent.
“The first consideration should be to make sure appropriate signage is in place,” says Nigel Wellings, director of Acres Insurance Brokers. “The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) will insist on, and expect you to have, danger signs around stacks, warning of the risk of falling bales.”
This creates a conundrum for farmers, who must balance these requirements with minimising the risk of arson from criminals.
“We are already witnessing a number of malicious fires this season, so clearly the focus is to move hay and straw stacks as soon as possible, and to do so you need easy access to them,” he says.
“It is quite natural, therefore, that these bales are stacked near to farm roads so they can be moved quickly, but this in turn opens up more opportunity for those with malicious intentions to start fires. Our advice is to get the bales back to the main base or building as quickly as possible.”
Nigel adds that most insurance companies will impose stack limits on the value they will insure, often around £25,000 to £30,000 on any one stack.
Rights of way
One key point is keeping stacks away from rights of way, or other areas where the public may have access.
As an example, an incident occurred at a ploughing match which was held next to a large straw stack. While nothing happened during the event, when the headland next to the stack was combined, the bales fell – writing off the header and trapping the driver inside.
“While the resulting damage was covered, had that happened when the vintage tractors went by, it could have been a very different and tragic outcome,” Nigel warns.
Weather can also have an impact on the bales. If heavy rain is soaked up, previously stable stacks could become unsafe, and start leaning.
“We also now see a growing number of bale chasers, hydraulically stacking bales from the trailer. These often tend not to be as safe as those stacked by a telescopic loader, so more care needs to be taken,” he adds.
“This again highlights the importance of placing ‘danger’ signs around stacks, it is not just a box ticking exercise. Even if the stacks are stored in a building, there needs to be appropriate signage on display on the outside of that building.”
He finally reminds operators to not park machinery next to the stack, due to the risk to the equipment if the stack were set on fire, and to avoid accidental damage if the stack falls.
Top tips
- Make sure you have appropriate signage in place
- Consider where you place the stacks
- Keep an eye on stacks, particularly if the weather changes
- Try and get stacks moved to base as soon as possible
For more information go to www.acresinsurance.co.uk