Beef + Lamb New Zealand has received strong farmer support for its sheepmeat and beef levies to continue, it says.
Beef cattle in Rangiwahia, Manawatu. Photo: RNZ / Alexander Robertson
Under the Commodity Levies Act, the vote must pass on two counts - a one farmer-one vote basis and one which is weighted on how much livestock people own, to ensure farmers with large numbers of stock do not have all the say.
Independent returning officer Warwick Lampp said of the 6448 voters, there was 84 percent support for both the sheep and beef levy.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand chairman James Parsons said the voter turn out was similar to the last referendum in 2009 but the results were much higher in comparison to when they narrowly passed in 2009.
Mr Parsons said farmers could expect to see a lot more initiatives to surface in the next couple of years, many of which were already in the pipeline.
