Sheepmeat and beef levies set to increase
Beef + Lamb New Zealand is set to increase the sheepmeat and beef levies following strong support from farmers.
From October 1, 2018 the levy for sheepmeat will increase by 10 cents to 70 cents a head while the beef levy will lift 80 cents to $5.20 a head.
This equates to a small increase in the overall sale value of an animal.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand chairman Andrew Morrison says 63 per cent of respondents backed the levy increase.
‘’We were pleased by the level of interest in the proposal and the amount of detail we received in the submission forms,’’ he says.
The organisation now has a clear mandate to accelerate the interest in four key programmes.
This includes the international activation of the Taste Pure Nature origin brand and the Red Meat Story, as well as helping the sector lift its environmental performance and reputation and strengthening
B+LNZ’s capability to address biosecurity risks.
During the consultation process farmers were asked several questions including whether they supported a levy increase, how the additional levies should be invested as well as any other feedback they might have.
While many farmers endorsed the investment others were concerned about potential cost pressures on the sector too.
A total of 1881 farmers lodged postal and online submissions during the consultation process, which ran from June 5 to July 13,
2018, while more than 1000 farmers attended discussions about the proposal.