In response to what it describes as the Government’s "assault on food production and rural communities" through a proposed tax on livestock emissions, the rural group is holding a noon protest entitled We’re Not Going To Take It.
Last year, convoys of thousands of tractors and utes took part in Groundswell’s Howl of a Protest in July, and then the Mother of All Protests four months later.
Yesterday, Mr Paterson, a Waikaka farmer, said the response had been "ballistic" and he was expecting a large turnout for the event, which was concentrated on Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.
Both he and co-founder Bryce McKenzie, of West Otago, would be driving their tractors to Dunedin, where the protest was converging on the one-way system.
He expected there would also be a large number of utes taking part.
Mr Paterson hoped there would not be a negative response from other road users in the city.
There had been "phenomenal" feedback from urban dwellers who supported the protest action and wanted protesters to "stay on message".
"The alternative is we don’t do anything. People out there are going to be affected by this.
"We have to make a stand and hopefully the Government takes it on board and thinks ‘gee, are we doing the right thing?’."
Yesterday, a police spokesman said police were aware of potential protest activity and had been in communication with organisers to discuss potential routes and plans.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has previously described the world-first scheme, that would require farmers to pay for agricultural emissions in some form by 2025, as a "pragmatic proposal" that would reduce agricultural emissions while making produce more sustainable and enhancing the "export brand".
Yesterday, DairyNZ chairman Jim van der Poel said the changes were "unacceptable for farmers and the primary sector".
There were fundamental shifts from what the sector and its farmers proposed, particularly around governance, price-setting and sequestration.
