Half of all deaths on farms are caused by accidents involving machinery, the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) warned today.
There were 14 deaths on farms across the country last year, with seven involving people over the age of 65. There have been five deaths so far this year.
Statistics from the HSA show 42 per cent of deaths involve tractors overturning or going out of control; 9 per cent are caused by entanglements.
The authority today publicised its Farm Safety Week, urging farmers to take more care.
Pat Griffin, a senior inspector for agriculture with the Health and Safety Authority, said the HSA was "deeply concerned" that the farm is still one of the most dangerous workplaces in the country.
"This situation cannot be allowed to continue and with a little more effort the key risks could be significantly reduced."
He said there was a worrying growth in the number of deaths among the elderly. Four of the five farm-related deaths so far this year have involved people over 65.
Hundreds of inspections are being carried out at farms across the country this week in a bid to cut down on the high numbers of deaths in the sector.
Mr Griffin said the 400 inspections taking place would cover safety for the elderly, completion of a farm safety self assessment form, tractor maintenance and machine guarding.
The HSA said that a range of safety activities was also being organised by the Farm Safety Partnership. The bid to highlight the dangers during this week will include radio advertisements, a text message alert, a safety advert to be aired in 21 livestock marts, distribution of farm self-assessment documents and 90,000 brochures in the Farmer's Journal.