2,000 farmers blockade dairies in milk price war
MORE than 2,000 dairy farmers have joined a third night of protests over the prices they are paid for milk, organisers claimed last night.
Members of Farmers For Action (FFA) have staged a series of blockades at milk processing plants across the country over prices paid to them by supermarkets. Protests were under way last night in Somerset, Shropshire and Worcestershire.
Among the processing plants being blockaded was the Robert Wiseman Dairies plant near Bridgwater, Somerset.
Dairy farmers fear they will be forced out of business because of cuts in the price paid to suppliers, combined with the rising costs of feed for cattle.
Environment secretary Caroline Spelman and Farming minister Jim Paice are due to meet farmers at the Royal Welsh Show today, where an FFA demonstration is also planned.
Meanwhile, Labour Welsh Assembly member Alun Davies held talks with Mr Paice last night, along with counterparts from the Scottish government and Northern Ireland Assembly.
In a joint statement, the ministers said: ‘The dairy sector is a key part of our agricultural industry and all the governments in the UK are determined that it should have a profitable and sustainable future. In responding to the current situation, industry needs to address both the immediate issue of the price paid for milk and also the structures and mechanisms that will help underpin the long-term viability of the sector.’
Vice- chairman of Farmers For Action Andrew Hemming said more than 2,000 farmers were taking part in the action last night.
He said about 800 farmers had blockaded the Robert Wiseman plant in Somerset, while 300 farmers are at the Robert Wiseman plant in Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire.
And more than 1,000 farmers, many with tractors and farm vehicles, were protesting at the Robert Wiseman plant in Market Drayton, Shropshire.
The farmers’ anger has centred on cuts of up to 2p a litre in the amount they receive from major milk processors, set to come in from August 1.
Robert Wiseman Dairies and First Milk are cutting the price by 1.7p a litre, Arla Foods UK by 2p and Dairy Crest by 1.65p.
The processors say they must make the cuts because the price they can sell cream for on the commodities market has fallen sharply in the past 12 to 18 months.
Campaigners have vowed to continue protests outside milk processing plants until they receive a better deal.
A spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: ‘People have got a right to protest but we would say there has got to be some real change at all levels of the supply chain to ensure the long-term sustainability of the industry.
‘The kind of protests that we have seen are not the way forward because this situation cannot be resolved overnight.’