TRACTORS continue to kill more people on Victorian farms than any other cause.

But farm bike accidents put the most people in hospital, according to a new report.

Transport-related accidents, including horse riding, were the biggest cause of death and injury on Victorian farms between 2004 and 2006, according to an analysis of farm accidents by Monash University's Victorian Injury Surveillance Unit.

Twenty-two people died, 623 people were hospitalised and 2,314 treated in casualty as a result of vehicle and horse-riding accidents on farms.

Thirteen people died after crashing a tractor or being run over by one.

Three people were killed and 101 required hospital treatment after accidents on all terrain vehicles.

While accidents on two wheeled motor bikes killed only one, they sent more than 1500 people to hospital.

Many of these bike accidents were related to recreation, rather than farm work and involved mainly young people with inexperience being the main problem, the report's author Erin Cassell said.

The farm was often seen a place for unlicensed and untrained riders to enjoy a bike ride but the result was many accidents, she said.

What was needed were facilities to allow young people to learn to handle bikes in a safe environment.

The report also found five people drowned in dams or waterholes and accidents involving livestock, mostly cattle, killed four and injured 1,599.

All of the figures suggested better design of vehicles and animal handling facilities were crucial to reducing the death and injury toll, Ms Cassell said.

Victorian Farmers Federation farm safety spokesman Alan Bowman said while farm accidents were still a major issue, it was important to remember tractor accidents and farm safety generally had been improving all the time, particularly roll over accidents.

Only one tractor death in the study was due to roll over.

"I am very confident that in the past ten years since the introduction of roll over protection measures for tractors, tractor accidents and farm safety generally has shown an improving trend," Mr Bowman said.

Ms Cassell said education and awareness campaigns had not been as effective as hoped in preventing farm accidents and on their own were unlikely to reduce death and injury.

"Future effort in farm safety training should integrate safety into all farm skill training courses rather than offering stand-alone safety training and education sessions," Ms Cassell said in her report.

"It is better to design the injury out of farm machinery and equipment and the safety in, than try and educate people about their safe use." Ms Cassell said.

For example, sensors to warn a tractor driver of a bystander and audible backing signals to warn bystanders of an approaching tractor would be hugely beneficial, Ms Cassell said.

But the report concedes the cost of updating equipment such as tractors or retro fitting with safety devices would be a major barrier to improving the situation quickly.

Mr Bowman said the VFF continued to be concerned about the rates of farm accidents and was working continuously with farm safety groups to keep pushing for improved measures and safer working practices.

There was a total of 41 accidental farm deaths and 1,765 hospital admissions in the three years, the report said.

Males were more likely to be the victims of farm accidents accounting for 85 per cent of deaths and 71 per cent of hospital - treated injuries.

The report can be found at www.monash.edu.au/muarc/visu