Farmers get ready to vote on future of Beef and Lamb NZ

Sheep farmers are levied 60c a head. Photo / NZME.

Crunch time is fast approaching for the farmer-funded industry group, Beef and Lamb New Zealand.

The Wellington-based organisation wrapped up the last of 53 meetings with farmers around the country last week and a referendum on its funding closes on September 10. A result is due no later than September 25.

Chairman James Parsons said farmers strongly supported Beef and Lamb, but there had been discussion on where it could do better.

"If farmers choose to not continue with it, then that obviously means the organisation will be wound up," Parsons said. "If we don't get a new mandate, under the Commodities Levies Act, then basically from 2016 it would be illegal for us to collect levy and invest it on farmers' behalf."

Beef and Lamb's annual budget comes to about $28 million, with $24 million of that coming from farmer levies.

About $14 million comes sheep farmers and $10 million from beef farmers.

The organisation suffered a setback in July when New Zealand meat processors rejected a joint marketing proposal to establish a 50/50 funded market development entity focusing on a country-of-origin promotion.

Parsons said Beef and Lamb was disappointed by the outcome for the proposal - which took two years to prepare - but it had been a beneficial process to go through.

"The key thing is that there is very strong farmer support."

Among the issues to come out of meetings up and down the country was farmers' need for support in dealing with new environmental regulations and with health and safety requirements.

Farmers supported Beef and Lamb's work in pursuing reduced tariffs and the reduction or removal of other barriers for the export sector.

There was also strong support for Beef and Lamb's research work, but many farmers wanted to see a better weighting towards more beef research.

Farmers also expressed a desire to see better urban engagement to attract more young people into the sector.

Parsons said there was no intention to raise levy rates from the current 60c a head for sheep meat and $4.40 for beef.

While dairy has tended to come to the fore in recent years, beef and lamb remains an important - and growing - part of the agriculture sector.

Revenue from beef and lamb comes to about $9 billion a year compared with $6 billion a decade ago, with much of that growth coming from the beef sector.

Together, sheep and beef farms take up about 76 per cent of New Zealand pastoral land area.