It seems farmers have had a gutsful of being made out to be tax dodgers by the Labour Party and its MPs are now being bombarded with hate mail.

Labour associate finance spokesperson David Parker says the rural lobby has teamed up with the National Party to orchestrate a media campaign defending farmers and attacking Labour.   

He says Labour’s MPs have been receiving a huge amount of unreasonable correspondence including hate mail.

David Parker says Labour only wants to farmers to pay their fair share. 

Recently Labour MP Stuart Nash trumpeted figures from the IRD that showed in 2009 that the average dairy farmer paid less in tax that year than a couple on the pension. 

One Kiwi farmer who says she is sick to death of politicians and media attacking farmers has launched her own pro-farming publicity campaign.

Jo Plimmer, who has various farming operations in Raglan, the High Country and Australia, has produced a range of bumper stickers that she says acknowledge the true importance of farming in New Zealand.   

She is hoping to sell the bumper stickers at this week’s Fieldays.