A national conference on farm safety and health takes place in Kilkenny tomorrow against the background of a major upsurge in farm deaths.

The figure of 18 farm fatalities so far in 2014 is already two more than the total for all of 2013, Teagasc and the Health and Safety Authority has warned.

Summer is a busy time on farms across Ireland, but it’s also a dangerous and sometimes fatal season for adults and children, reports Ray Ryan, who looks at what is being done to improve safety

Large crowds are expected to attend an inaugural Ecumenical Remembrance Service organised by Embrace Farm for the victims of farm accidents, which will take place in the Most Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Abbeyleix, Co Laois, at 2pm on Sunday next, June 29.