The Labour Department is launching tough new guidelines on quad bike use in an effort to bring down a worryingly high death toll on farms.

New safety guidelines include wearing a helmet and not allowing children under 16 to ride them.

Labour Minister Kate Wilkinson says farmers will face prosecution if they’re found breaking the guidelines.

“There can be consequences and prosecutions, we don’t want to be the police on this, although we will be if we have to.

"We want to get the message across that we want farms to be safe, we want farming families to be safe, and we want staff to be safe.”

Federated Farmers is backing the initiative. 

Feds farm safety spokesperson Donald Aubrey says the quad bike’s convenience means farmers sometimes let their guard down.

“They are able to be used for a whole lot of different functions, but the downside is regarding safety.

"They are not that stable, so the operator needs to be careful how they use them."

Donald Aubrey says most farmers are sensible in their quad bike use.

"I don’t know any farmers who are reckless, or set out to act in a foolish way with those quad bikes.

"Obviously with that level of use there will be accidents, but we want to reduce that rate by one third, and hopefully that will be successful.”