17 people lost their lives in farm related accidents in Ireland over the course of 2018.
Teagasc says this number is five less than the average for the previous 5 years.
The overwhelming majority of those who died were over the age of 65.
53% of fatalities last year were associated with farm vehicles and machinery, while 29% arose due to incidents with livestock.
The remainder happened as a result of a fall from height, slurry drowning and timber cutting.
The Agriculture and Food Development Authority is calling on farmers to make safety a priority during January and the busy spring period in 2019.
It's also calling on farmers to be extra vigilant when slurry spreading season gets under way from January 13th.