Tuesday, 12 February 2019 09:55

M. bovis levy more than expected

Written by Rural News Group

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Chris Lewis.

DairyNZ's proposed M. bovis levy of up to 3.9c/kgMS is a lot higher than some were expecting, says Federated Farmers dairy chair Chris Lewis.

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.

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