Police are asking farmers to consider safety initiatives when venturing out into isolated areas after a man's body was found next to a rural road early this morning.

In expressing the sympathies to the family of 66-year-old Te Akau farmer, Tommy Tahinga Rupapere, district road policing manager, Inspector Freda Grace, says there were a number of factors that make his death a tragedy.

Farmers are being asked to consider their safety.

'The crash is still in its initial stages of inquiry by the Serious Crash Unit,” says Freda.

'However, initial indications are that Mr Rupapere left his Te Akau Coast Rd home yesterday morning with two dogs to move stock.

'We believe he has moved one mob and then gone back out for another. Relatives became concerned yesterday afternoon when he failed to return but one of his dogs did and police were called.”

Freda says officers from Raglan teamed up with Search and Rescue teams and relatives and local residents to conduct a search for the missing man overnight.

'At about 4am Mr Rupapere's body was found under his quad bike in a drain beside the gravel road but well below the level of the road,” says Freda.

'An attending officer said that had he been standing up, someone on the road would still have been unable to see him.

'At this stage it appears the crash has been a single vehicle one, involving only the quad bike and the really sad aspect of it all was he was found just 600m from his home.”

The man's dog was found alive with the quad bike.

Freda says: 'This is a very sad incident for all involved and police are working with Worksafe NZ to conduct an investigation.

'The investigation is currently in its formative stages and we would not like to speculate on the cause of the crash.”

In circumstances where people are in remote areas with poor reception and are going to be out for extended periods of time, Freda asks they consider what other forms of communication can be used to raise the alarm or detect when someone is overdue.

Freda adds: 'There are things like VHF radios or even welfare check times, where if someone fails to meet an agreed schedule a sequence of events takes place or an alarm is raised.

'It's all about removing the risk. No matter if you're outdoors for work or recreation, we all need to be safe.”