Dairy farmers urged to participate in 2026 Levy vote
DairyNZ chair Tracy Brown is urging dairy farmers to participate in the 2026 Levy vote, to be held early next year.
He says during their consultation programme, 99% of farmers (who turned up to meetings) opposed agriculture being included in the ETS and 86% supported the farm-level proposal.
"This is because farmers want to be recognised for their own emission - not just an industry average," he told Rural New. "If they have some behavioural change or if they do something on farm to lessen their emissions, they want to be recognised for that."
Van der Poel says, under the HWEN proposal, there is an opportunity for levy funds to be recycled back to fund new research and tools to further help farmers reduce their emissions.
"Unlike the ETS, the HWEN system will actually reduce emissions, and will recognise and incentivise on-farm actions. It will invest in R&D to find new solutions, building on the already significant primary sector investment," he says.
