Wool growers voted 57.19% to 42.81% against the levy and the weighted vote from larger enterprises was against the levy by 59.88% to 40.12%.
Participation in the referendum was a record 47.22% of the 12,201 sheep farmers sent voting packs. The previous referendum produced only a 39% turnout.
Federated Farmers national president William Rolleston, a South Canterbury farmer, said feedback he had received from his district was that most farmers voted in favour of reinstating a levy to promote wool.
''There's a quite a bit of surprise at the outcome,'' he told Courier Country.
Perhaps it was too soon to go back to a levy, after it was dropped in 2009, Dr Rolleston said.
Growers were already paying various levies to companies working with wool, and fine-wool growers probably could not see any benefit for them, he said.
''I'm disappointed there's not some money going into R&D [research and development], particularly on-farm, to benefit all growers.''
That would send the Government a message about where it needed to align its funding priorities, Dr Rolleston said. It tended to spend more at the processing end of the chain, not behind the farm gate.
Areas he believed could be targeted included productivity, to achieve more wool for the energy put in, and supplying wools of more consistent quality, whether strong or fine.
A levy was not the be-all and end-all, it was a mechanism, Dr Rolleston said.
''Now we need to look at what other mechanisms are available to get this great product out.'
The high voter turnout showed wool growers were thinking about the issues and how to get better value, he said.
''These exercises are always worthwhile, getting the issues to the fore in growers' minds.''
Wools of New Zealand chairman Mark Shadbolt, a Banks Peninsula farmer, told Courier Country the democratic process had prevailed in the referendum.
''I commend the Wool Levy Group for the effort it put into the campaign. It's really hard work.''
The voter turnout showed growers were ''well connected'' with the process, Mr Shadbolt said.
He believed the word ''levy'' still had negative connotations for many farmers, especially producers of crossbred wool. Wool prices had plummeted while they paid the former Wool Board levy for many years.
It had largely gone into generic marketing, which did not usually lead to profits, Mr Shadbolt said.
Important aspects discussed during the referendum still needed to be worked on, such as: education, collection and transfer of information, and leadership.
While his organisation had responsibilities to its shareholders, he said it was also proactive for the wider industry and would soon reveal ideas for industry-good activities. They would use a ''21st-century model'' for funding, involving some commercialisation, to ensure they were ''there for the long, long term'', Mr Shadbolt said.