Next week, information will be sent to everyone on B+LNZ’s electoral roll about the farmer vote on B+LNZ joining the foot and mouth disease Operational Agreement between the Government and agriculture sector. Here’s what you need to know.
Foot and mouth disease outbreaks have been reported on farms in Germany, Hungary and Slovakia in recent weeks, and in countries closer to home such as Indonesia in the past few years.
While the priority remains keeping the disease out of New Zealand, work has been under way for several years to ensure we can respond as quickly as possible if it does arrive and minimise the damage to our sector and economy.
B+LNZ has been working with the Government and other industry groups on a foot and mouth disease readiness and response plan, formalised in an Operational Agreement. Negotiations on this agreement have been conducted as part of the Government Industry Agreement for Biosecurity Readiness and Response (GIA) that B+LNZ joined in 2018 following a farmer vote.
The Operational Agreement seeks to ensure we’re as prepared as possible for a potential outbreak and sets out how a response effort would be funded.
Now we need farmer approval to join the Operational Agreement.
Why there’s a voting process
Due to the potential size of B+LNZ’s liability in a large-scale response, signing the Operational Agreement is a ‘major transaction’ under the Companies Act 1993. This means that B+LNZ cannot sign the agreement unless there is a levypayer vote in support.
Other sector groups are consulting with their farmers, although not all need to have a formal farmer vote on it.
How the voting process will work
Everyone on B+LNZ’s electoral roll will be sent information via mail from 15 April (it may take a few days for it to arrive in rural mailboxes).
You’ll receive a letter that includes your unique PIN and password to complete online voting, and a handout that explains the Operational Agreement in more detail.
On the voting site, you’ll need to confirm your details and you’ll then be asked one simple question about whether you support B+LNZ joining the Operational Agreement.
Online voting will be open until 2pm on Friday 16 May.
What the agreement covers
The agreement sets out obligations to undertake readiness activities and share of response costs and provides signatories with a direct, legally-binding say in decision-making.
- Readiness activities are costs incurred to ensure the appropriate systems and resources are in place to deal with an outbreak (includes things like staff training, business continuity planning and participation in exercises and simulations).
- Response activities are costs directly related to an outbreak.
The agreement sets out the Government’s share and an agricultural industry share of costs. It then outlines what each part of the sector contributes to that industry share (based on the relative size of the sectors in value terms).
Key things to note
- B+LNZ cannot sign the Operational Agreement without our levypayers’ support. It’s critical you have your say.
- Farmers will not have to pay anything now – readiness activities will be funded by GIA levy funds collected for M. bovis that are not needed for historic compensation claims, and then by New Zealand Meat Board reserves earmarked for ‘industry good’ activities. This means there is no direct impact on farmers unless there is a foot and mouth disease outbreak.
- In the event of a foot and mouth disease outbreak, the Government would fund the response and recover costs through a GIA levy – farmers would face increased levies from one year after freedom to trade is re-established, for a period of ten years. Voting NO would not mean we could avoid costs, but voting YES would give us a say in how our sector contributes to those costs and how money is spent in a response.
- This agreement has support across the agricultural sector.
Where to get further information
There will be a dedicated page on B+LNZ’s website, which will include Frequently Asked Questions (which we’ll update based on what farmers are asking us) and a link to the online voting site. Details on how to access this page are included in the voting information and we’ll be promoting it in our usual channels such as e-diaries and social media.
We’ll also be running webinars where there will be a chance to ask questions – again, keep an eye on the above channels for more info on these.
Key dates
- 15 April: voting information sent to farmers .
- 16 May (2pm): voting closes.
- June: if approved, B+LNZ will take part in a formal signing of the Operational Agreement.
- 1 July: the agreement would take effect.