"Some farmers are fully skilled-up on current regulations and performing well but unfortunately there will always be some that need to up their game," he said.
"Farmers tell us they feel quite bogged down about so much regulation and struggle to get on top of it all.
"But farmers need to know what they need to do. There's lots of information online that can tell them what changes are happening."
Employees also needed to be aware of their rights and take responsibility for their part, he said.
"There's responsibility on employees to follow instructions and follow their agreement. A good example is wearing helmets on quad bikes.
"It's law, so as long as it's written in the employment contract and in the health and safety plan and farmers provide a helmet, it's up to the employee to be responsible and wear it."
Nationally, 165 farms were found to have made at least one employment law breach from mid-2012 to the end of February this year. At least one breach was found on 146 of the 321 dairy cattle farms investigated and 19 of the 26 non-dairy farms investigated.
The ministry took enforcement action on 69 farms, farmers voluntarily complied with inspectors in 46 cases and the remainder of breaches were sorted during the inspectors' visits.
Council of Trade Unions president Helen Kelly said the industry was "out of control and unaccountable".
"These are breaches of the minimum code, which shows how many farmers are working on or near the minimum," she said.
"We know that the average hours worked per week are increasing - the average hours working on a dairy farm per week are now 51 - but the wages are decreasing.
"The average pay per hour across all farms is $17.34, which is nothing when you think of all the senior herd managers and other senior roles."
Improving employment standards was in everyone's best interest, she said.
"Farmers need a sustainable workforce of people that are properly trained and safe. At the moment they are required to get more and more migrant workers because they can't get Kiwis.
"It's very bad for New Zealand's international reputation."
Ms Kelly said the situation could be fixed overnight if the Government developed and enforced a minimum employment code for farm staff, with specific terms and conditions.
"The forestry industry still has a long way to go but it's had big changes that show how much can be achieved under the pump."
