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Anonymous
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This is the type of thing that occurs when you allow Government to tell you how to run your operation......
FARMER IS CRUSHED TO DEATH IN LATEST TRAGEDY FOR FAMILY
JOHN THOMSON AND JOE WATSON
08:50 - 20 March 2007
A Respected north-east farmer was killed yesterday when he was crushed by a cow in the latest tragedy to befall his family.
Bob Cumming, 60, of Baldavie, Boyndie, near Banff, died instantly when he was attacked by the animal as he was fixing a tag on a calf in a steading.
The Health and Safety Executive said last night that inspectors would visit the site at Hilton Farm, near Banff, today to investigate the circumstances.
There have been significant concerns about the safety of tagging young calves over many years and the farmers' union, NFU Scotland, has repeatedly warned that the practice is inherently dangerous as cows can quickly turn on people they see handling their calves.
Mr Cumming's wife, Mary, who is a teacher, was too upset to talk but a family member described what he knew of the incident.
Brother-in-law Lyon Craigie said: "He was putting a tag in a calf's ear when a cow got her head down and pinned him up against a wall and crushed him."
Mr Cumming's daughter, Louise, who is in her 20s and in Australia on an extended break, is understood to have been told of her father's death.
The Cumming family has endured personal heartache in the past with the death in 1995 of Mr Cumming's 15-year-old son, Andrew, in a shooting incident. The teenager's body was found with a shotgun beside him near a field where sheep were kept and it was thought his death was an accident.
And almost 25 years ago, in July 1982, four members of the family died in a road accident near Newmachar.
Mr Cumming's elderly parents, Robert and Mary, their daughter, Moira, and her aunt, Elizabeth Grant, were killed after the car in which they were travelling collided with a lorry.
Yesterday's accident happened shortly after 10am in the steading at Hilton Farm, a short distance from Baldavie.
It is understood that a young student with Mr Cumming saw what happened and raised the alarm.
By the time an ambulance crew and police arrived on the scene, Mr Cumming was dead.
Police said last night a post-mortem examination would be carried out and a report sent to the procurator fiscal.
A spokesman for the Health and Safety Executive said: "The police notified us because it was a work-related accident, which we must investigate.
"It appears the incident happened when the man was tagging calves."
NFU Scotland has persistently called for changes in the tagging rules, which currently demand that births of all calves are notified to the British Cattle Movement Service and the young animals have official identify tags inserted in both their ears within 27 days of their birth.
Without the tags and the official notification, the animals are banned from the food chain.
This often results in farmers having to take risks to get the tags in to comply with the legislation.
Mr Craigie said his brother-in-law lived for farming and was well used to dealing with livestock.
"Farming was his life and this is a very sad day, and it has come as a big shock to everyone," he said.
Mr Cumming was a high-ranking NFU Scotland official in Banffshire and a national council member on the union's tenants' panel.
Former Banff NFU Scotland official Michael Durno, of Glenlivet, described Mr Cumming as "a top man" and said his death was a big loss.
Mr Durno's mother, Jo, who is a member of the NFU Highland and Island committee, said he had been a valuable member of the tenants' panel.
A former Banff NFU area secretary, Alan Meldrum, said: "This is shocking news.
"The family have had a tragic past."
The union was not prepared to comment on the situation last night other than to say its thoughts were with Mr Cumming's family, to whom it sent its deepest sympathies.
Banff councillor John Cox, who knew Mr Cumming, recalled last night that he once stood unsuccessfully for the Banff-Hilton seat on Aberdeenshire Council.
Mr Cox said: "He was one of the most generous people and always ready and willing to help anybody. He was well respected in the farming community and his death is a massive shock."
The Cumming family have interests in a number of farms in the Banff area, including Hilton, where the accident happened.
A member of the farming community in the area who asked not to be named said: "The Cumming family have not had their grief to seek over the years."
FARMER IS CRUSHED TO DEATH IN LATEST TRAGEDY FOR FAMILY
JOHN THOMSON AND JOE WATSON
08:50 - 20 March 2007
A Respected north-east farmer was killed yesterday when he was crushed by a cow in the latest tragedy to befall his family.
Bob Cumming, 60, of Baldavie, Boyndie, near Banff, died instantly when he was attacked by the animal as he was fixing a tag on a calf in a steading.
The Health and Safety Executive said last night that inspectors would visit the site at Hilton Farm, near Banff, today to investigate the circumstances.
There have been significant concerns about the safety of tagging young calves over many years and the farmers' union, NFU Scotland, has repeatedly warned that the practice is inherently dangerous as cows can quickly turn on people they see handling their calves.
Mr Cumming's wife, Mary, who is a teacher, was too upset to talk but a family member described what he knew of the incident.
Brother-in-law Lyon Craigie said: "He was putting a tag in a calf's ear when a cow got her head down and pinned him up against a wall and crushed him."
Mr Cumming's daughter, Louise, who is in her 20s and in Australia on an extended break, is understood to have been told of her father's death.
The Cumming family has endured personal heartache in the past with the death in 1995 of Mr Cumming's 15-year-old son, Andrew, in a shooting incident. The teenager's body was found with a shotgun beside him near a field where sheep were kept and it was thought his death was an accident.
And almost 25 years ago, in July 1982, four members of the family died in a road accident near Newmachar.
Mr Cumming's elderly parents, Robert and Mary, their daughter, Moira, and her aunt, Elizabeth Grant, were killed after the car in which they were travelling collided with a lorry.
Yesterday's accident happened shortly after 10am in the steading at Hilton Farm, a short distance from Baldavie.
It is understood that a young student with Mr Cumming saw what happened and raised the alarm.
By the time an ambulance crew and police arrived on the scene, Mr Cumming was dead.
Police said last night a post-mortem examination would be carried out and a report sent to the procurator fiscal.
A spokesman for the Health and Safety Executive said: "The police notified us because it was a work-related accident, which we must investigate.
"It appears the incident happened when the man was tagging calves."
NFU Scotland has persistently called for changes in the tagging rules, which currently demand that births of all calves are notified to the British Cattle Movement Service and the young animals have official identify tags inserted in both their ears within 27 days of their birth.
Without the tags and the official notification, the animals are banned from the food chain.
This often results in farmers having to take risks to get the tags in to comply with the legislation.
Mr Craigie said his brother-in-law lived for farming and was well used to dealing with livestock.
"Farming was his life and this is a very sad day, and it has come as a big shock to everyone," he said.
Mr Cumming was a high-ranking NFU Scotland official in Banffshire and a national council member on the union's tenants' panel.
Former Banff NFU Scotland official Michael Durno, of Glenlivet, described Mr Cumming as "a top man" and said his death was a big loss.
Mr Durno's mother, Jo, who is a member of the NFU Highland and Island committee, said he had been a valuable member of the tenants' panel.
A former Banff NFU area secretary, Alan Meldrum, said: "This is shocking news.
"The family have had a tragic past."
The union was not prepared to comment on the situation last night other than to say its thoughts were with Mr Cumming's family, to whom it sent its deepest sympathies.
Banff councillor John Cox, who knew Mr Cumming, recalled last night that he once stood unsuccessfully for the Banff-Hilton seat on Aberdeenshire Council.
Mr Cox said: "He was one of the most generous people and always ready and willing to help anybody. He was well respected in the farming community and his death is a massive shock."
The Cumming family have interests in a number of farms in the Banff area, including Hilton, where the accident happened.
A member of the farming community in the area who asked not to be named said: "The Cumming family have not had their grief to seek over the years."
But you blow me away with your reasoning OT
