The Wellsford-based agricultural contractor was elected president of the association at its annual conference in Cromwell in June.
He took over from John Hughes, of Invercargill, who stood down after four years in the role.
The association has about 450 member companies and represents nearly 3000 workers throughout the sector.
Mr Levet has wasted no time following through on his conference pledge the association would continue to be a ''powerful and influential'' advocate for rural contractors.
Last week, he made headlines throughout the country when he said there was a need to remove immigration barriers so skilled overseas workers could be brought in to help on a seasonal basis.
''An ongoing lack of skilled, local workers and the seasonal nature of our industry - as well as the complexity of visa systems - make it extremely difficult for contractors to get appropriately experienced staff when we need them.''
The industry was in ''desperate need'' of skilled temporary workers and was relying on overseas workers - usually from England and Ireland - to fill the gap.
It needed workers experienced enough to operate highly technical and expensive pieces of machinery and willing to work on a seasonal basis but was finding it difficult to recruit such workers in New Zealand.
Despite this need, present immigration and employment laws were causing ''headaches and expensive hold-ups'', he said.
The association would like to see Immigration New Zealand's immediate skills shortages list updated in recognition of the need by contractors. It would also like to see the rules about employing temporary, skilled people from overseas simplified, together with the rules restricting those who have previously worked in the country from returning in following seasons. These overseas workers knew the business, the regions and the customers and could start operating machinery immediately, he said.
Mr Levet also questioned why more young New Zealanders were not being encouraged to take up careers in the agricultural sector, especially when it was crying out for more workers. It was New Zealand's most productive and innovative sector and offered a wide variety of career opportunities for young people, he said.
''I find it astounding that schools and other educational institutions are not more actively encouraging young people to look at the agricultural sector for career opportunities.''
Mr Levet said he was concerned to hear agriculture was being promoted as a ''second-class'' career path for those less academically inclined.
''That really is last-century thinking when you consider that people entering the agricultural sector will find progression is a given and, with shortages in the field internationally, they can end up having a global career.
''Rural Contractors NZ provides a career path for young people entering our industry and there are qualifications up to diploma level, which are available to those working in our sector. There is also plenty of evidence to suggest those working in the agricultural sector are better remunerated than their peers working in other sectors.''
The association was willing to help schools and other educators understand what the agriculture sector had to offer in the way of career options, he said.
''Agriculture is the backbone of New Zealand's economy and an industry with massive growth potential, so we need our best and brightest to be working in the sector,'' Mr Levet said.