The Health and Safety Executive has announced a fall in fatalities on British farms, though figures from insurers suggest non-fatal accidents have continued apace.

The HSE figures were released on Wednesday, coinciding with Farm Safety Week in the UK. Rural insurer NFU Mutual, which is part of an industry campaign taking the farm safety message to agricultural events this week, urged the farming community "not to become complacent," in light of the small reduction in fatalities on farms.

HSE figures published in late 2013 showed that, whilst the number of fatalities in the agriculture sector had fallen, the number of major accidents remained unchanged. Last year, against an overall drop of 11 percent, major injuries (ranging from amputations to fractures and burns) in the agriculture sector remained relatively unchanged at 375 compared to 376 the previous year.

The farming sector still accounted for almost 20 percent of work-place fatalities last year, despite employing around 1 percent of the workforce.

Figures released by HSE on Wednesday deal only with workplace fatalities. They show that, in the year to March 2014, 27 people died working in agriculture, out of a total of 133 work-related deaths in the UK as a whole.

Although this is well below agriculture's five-year average of 33 deaths, at a staggeringly high 8.77 fatalities per 100,000 workers – more than twice that of the next most dangerous industry, waste and recycling – agriculture retains its egregious position of having the worst workplace safety record in the country.

Judith Hackitt, the HSE Chair commented on Wednesday, "The release of the annual statistics always leads to mixed emotions. Sadness for the loss of 133 lives, and sympathy for their families, friends and workmates, but also a sense of encouragement that we continue to make progress in reducing the toll of suffering."

Also commenting on the figures, NFU Mutual Chair Richard Percy said, "Whilst we welcome the small but significant reduction in fatalities, our claims data shows that the farming community is still not winning its battle with farm accidents as the number of serious accidents (where someone suffers a life-changing injury and may require a lifetime of specialist care), remains high.

"I, like many farmers, have witnessed the devastation that farm accidents cause and I shudder to think what would happen to most family farms if a key family member was killed or injured in a farm accident. I can imagine the devastating impact such an incident would have - both emotionally and financially - in my own family business. That is why working safely and looking out for one another is so important."

NFU Mutual figures show that accidents involving machinery (including injuries caused by PTO shafts) were the most common and costly farm injury and fatality claims during 2013, at over £19 million. However, falls (including falls from height) and injuries sustained whilst handling livestock were also common.

Falls from height, like accidents with machinery, usually result in very serious life-changing injuries and the cost of claims to NFU Mutual reached over £3.7 million in 2013, but the emotional cost of these injuries is immeasurable, Percy said. Livestock related injuries and fatalities cost over £2.5 million, with 87% of livestock-related injuries being caused by cattle.

Richard Percy continued, "We [in the UK] are respected around the world for our welfare standards and our innovation. We need to apply this professionalism to our own safety and the safety of our employees and family members."

NFU Mutual's Farm Safety Foundation will be in attendance at The Livestock Event, taking place at the Birmingham NEC this week, to distribute safety information to the public as part of the Yellow Wellies farm safety campaign.

The Farm Safety Partnership, another industry led initiative, launched its 'Five Minute Safety Check' initiative on Monday. The Partnership is encouraging farmers to spend five minutes every day making safety checks on their holdings.