Building trust
OPINION: The war of words between Southland farmers and Environment Southland over winter grazing inspections reflects a deep lack of trust among farmers for the regional council.
Dairy farmers are being asked to approve a levy of up to 3.9 cents/kgMS over the next two seasons to pay their share of the Mycoplasma bovis eradication effort.
Lewis said while farmers generally accept the need for eradication, the proposed levy was suprisingly high.
“When it came in at 3.9 it made me look again; it is a lot of money," said Lewis.
He said many dairy farmers are still unhappy about the 94:6 split between the dairy and beef sectors, as agreed to by DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb NZ.
“What is it paying for, what are we getting for that amount of money?”
Lewis encouraged farmers to go to the consultation meetings, ask questions and have their say.
Read more about the proposed levy and how you can have your say here.
