Howl of a protest heading to the South

Jim Macdonald, of Mt Gowrie Station, and Groundswell NZ's Howl of a Protest Dunedin organiser Gill Marshall are preparing for Friday's event. Photo / Christine O'Connor

"Farming could be a joy but really it's a bloody nightmare."

Jim Macdonald has been farming Mt Gowrie Station, at Clarks Junction, since 1970 and he has worked through difficult times.

What farmers were battling now had been "created by a government that does not understand and does not even want to understand," he said.

On Friday, Macdonald will take part in Howl of a Protest, a New Zealand-wide Groundswell NZ-organised event to show support for farmers and growers.

People were encouraged to bring their tractor, ute and dogs for a bark-up in cities and towns to protest against what it has been described as "increasing Government interference, unworkable regulations and unjustified costs".

With 20-odd dogs between Macdonald, his son, Heath, and daughter, Katryna, there would be no shortage of canine contenders to fill the dog box.

Macdonald said it was "time to stand up for what we believe in."

"We don't believe in this nonsense.

"When you get enough people thinking [along] the same lines, you've got to make a stand. It's as simple as that.

"It's shocking. Every week, either one or two new things are cropping up.

"Every day you wake up and you think ... what's she [Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern] done now?"

If it was not for farmers, the country would be broke - "Grant Robertson would have to write out more money" - and it was the rural sector that kept the country going during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Gatherings were planned throughout the South, including Alexandra, Gore, Invercargill, Mosgiel, Palmerston, Oamaru, Queenstown, Te Anau and Wanaka.

Dunedin organiser Gill Marshall said it had been decided it was not safe to stop in Dunedin so participants would drive through the Octagon, between about noon and 12.15pm, their dogs barking.

They would then return to Mosgiel where former Invermay head Dr Jock Allison would give a short address and Marshall would deliver Groundswell NZ's statement on how it sees things.

Even though protest vehicles would be keeping left and letting other traffic flow as smoothly as possible, there would still be significant disruption to the travelling public around Dunedin and Balclutha and more time should be left to get to destinations.

Listen to Jamie Mackay interview co-founder of Groundswell Laurie Paterson about "Howl of a Protest" on The Country below:

"Respect and safety is what we want for everyone," she said.

Rural New Zealand was "hurting" and Marshall hoped urban folk would support the sector.

She had been getting messages of support this week not only from farmers but also agricultural contractors, agricultural service industries, tradies, ute owners and other concerned individuals.

"We're constantly being told what we can and can't do. Everyone I know has had a gutsful and we can't stay silent any more," she said.

Groundswell co-founder Bryce McKenzie, from West Otago, expected an "enormous" response to the nationwide event.

It was not just about the rural sector; there had been support from urban folk and tradespeople were organising some of the rallies.

The only major city Groundswell had left off the itinerary - and that was intentional - was Wellington.

McKenzie was expecting a "massive" number of tractors in Auckland's Queen St. The logistics were different in the various areas, with some towns requiring traffic management plans, he said.

Federated Farmers national president Andrew Hoggard said he was not surprised frustration and anger about "the deluge of new regulations and costs from central government" was spilling over into protest meetings.

Earlier this week, Ardern said she understood the primary sector was facing "significant challenges" but insisted that delaying reforms of the rural economy would be "more damaging".