'She'll be pretty naïve if she doesn't listen'. 

That's the view of Wyndham farmer Bruce Robertson on whether Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will take heed of mass protests by rural communities across New Zealand today. 

Robertson organised the Invercargill convoy for Groundswell NZ's The Howl of Protest, a noisy protest against the 'unworkable regulations' being imposed on farmers and growers by the Government.

More than 300 tractors and 400 utes wound their way to the Ascot Park Racecourse this afternoon.

See more photos of the protest

Robertson says they are "blown away" by the level of support. 

"The community got behind us, not just the rural one, the urban people as well. 

"The turn out was twice what we expected. The support was everywhere, the contractors, the police, they all got behind us and the feeling of respect between everyone was marvelous. 

"I don't know how many people we had in the stands at the Racecourse, there must have been 700 to 800 people. The paddocks were full, the carparks were full." 

Across Southland, thousands turned out to take part in The Howl or support those in the convoy. 

Organisers say there were 800 tractors and 1200 utes in Gore, while three helicopters and 1 top dressing plane flew over the Te Anau protest. More than 1000 people gathered at Lions Park, Te Anau, to hear Groundswell NZ set out its stall, before an organised howl from the working and pet dogs that were present.

Groundswell NZ wants the Government to scrap both the National Policy Statement on Freshwater and the Government’s Clean Car Package rebate scheme, labelled the 'ute tax'.

It also takes issue with regulations for Significant Natural Areas, The National Policy Statement on Indigenous Biodiversity, visas for seasonal rural workers, the NZ Emissions Trading Scheme, and the Crown Pastoral Land Reform Bill.

Asked whether he thought Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will listen, Robertson says: "She'll be pretty naïve if she doesn't.

"This is not just Southland, this is across the country, from Northland down. We're named Groundswell and there's a groundswell of support, so if they don't take this on board they're pretty blind. 

"We want to see all the mayors and councillors around New Zealand stand up for us, we want to see all the levy groups Beef + Lamb, Federated Farmers, Dairy NZ, we want to see them stand up and get behind, they've haven't had enough balls to stand up, we want to see them stand up now." 

A long line of tractors weaves its way through suburban Invercargill. Photo: Matthew Rosenberg/LDR

National Party MP for Southland Joseph Mooney was in Gore with National's Agriculture Spokesperson David Bennett.

"The huge number of farmers that lined the streets of Gore and in centres across New Zealand sent a direct message that simply cannot be ignored," Mooney says.

"It was an incredible and powerful display of what the farming sector thinks of the government's policies.

"Proposed regulations in the areas of freshwater and indigenous biodiversity and Special Natural Areas (SNAs) are completely unworkable and uneconomic.

"They show all of the signs of being dreamt up by Labour and Greens Party policymakers in a Wellington backroom with no input from farming's best operators and with no regard for their practicality or economic impact."

Mooney says the protest has been driven by Labour and the Greens "fundamentally failing to value or listen to the farming sector".

Mooney says he firmly believes in providing alternatives to the government’s proposed regulation.

"The government needs to engage the farming community, our best farmers are already making incredible environmental gains.

"Catchment groups across my electorate are shining examples of how much farmers care about their land and how proactive they are in improving the environment.

"The answers to farming’s challenges lie with those who work on the land, are passionate about its wellbeing and have already developed industry-leading practices."

Tractors make their way through Invercargill streets as part of Groundswell's protest. Photo: Matthew Rosenberg/LDR

The Government has been silent on the protests this afternoon, but climate change lobby group Extinction Rebellion criticised the event in a statement, saying it furthers "business as usual", .

"[It's] pushing us further away from any tangible future where we are able to sustain ourselves as a species on this planet. If the 'Ute tax' affects you then you are privileged enough to afford one. Maintaining privilege holds no justification for protest," the statement said.

"The Earth is on fire. All over America there are wild fires at rate unseen in human history. Siberia, one of the coldest places on earth, is on fire. Last week we had the hottest day ever recorded in the history of reliable recording. The last 6 years were the hottest ever recorded and the scary thing is going forward they will be the coldest.

"Across the globe people are suffering from the effects of the climate and ecological crisis. While at the same time farmers and ute owners here in Aotearoa are rising up to protest against a move by the Government that is tokenistic at best, they are doing less than the bare minimum needed to shift our current trajectory."

It said the farming industry is responsible for the "mass confiscation of indigenous land, mass pollution of our fresh water ways, the uncontrollable emitting of one of the most toxic greenhouse gases (methane), the deforestation of our native bush, degradation of our soils, the acidification of our oceans, the funding of the war in Western Sahara and murder of millions/billion of non human sentient beings".