UPDATED 4.47pm: Industry experts say the number of employment law breaches found at dairy farms across the country during a recent audit is a bad look prospective employees.

Nineteen dairy industry employers are facing enforcement action for poor record keeping and significant minimum wage breaches following an audit of 29 farms.

DairyNZ’s strategy and investment leader for people and business, Mark Paine says although the audits were targeted it's a disappointing result.

"What we need to be conveying to talented people who are trying to get into the industry is they can expect consistently high standards in the dairy working environment."

Federated Farmers Dairy Chairman Andrew Hoggard says it's not good enough.

"Even if it had been 20 percent, 10 percent non-compliance I still wouldn't be happy with it.

"As an industry we need to be doing a hell of a lot better."

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment is also disappointed with the showing.

Labour Inspectorate Central Regional Manager Natalie Gardiner says is simple things farmers are still getting wrong.

"It is disappointing because I think some of the breaches were just in relation to, really, just the basics keeping employment agreements and wage and time recording again."