Price protests ‘could last until Christmas’

Angry farmers have vowed to step up protests against plunging milk and lamb prices, insisting they could last until Christmas unless there is real change.

A wave of co-ordinated protests, led by Farmers For Action, was due to target between three to five retailers across the UK on Thursday evening (27 August).

Tom Houghton, a haulier and FFA Cheshire co-ordinator, said a rally was planned for Cheshire if talks “did not go well” with one of the big retailers.

See also: Read more on the milk price crisis

“We are looking for 28p/litre across the board, for farmgate milk and milk used to produce cheese,” said Mr Houghton. “It’s up to the processors now to go in and get it.”

Mr Houghton told Farmers Weekly that dairy farmers had received “firm commitments” from retailers and processors following recent talks.

“We have had promises from quite a number of sections of the industry, but there is still a lot of work to be done,” he added.

Sheep farmer Mike Jones, who led July’s lamb price protests against Tesco in north Wales, said demonstrations would continue until Christmas if supermarkets did not take steps to help farmers now.

“We are not going to stop. This action will carry on until Christmas unless there is change,” he added.

“We are dealing with people’s lives and businesses here. It’s about time the supermarkets passed on some of the profit to farmers.

“The government also needs to realise what’s going on. If they are not careful, it is going to get like the situation in France. It is on the verge, people are boiling.”

Mr Jones, a tenant farmer who farms 100ha in Bangor, north Wales, said that he was making a £16 loss on every 40kg lamb he produced.  

Meanwhile, French farmers’ union FNSEA said it would stage a mass protest, involving 1,000 tractors converging on Paris on 3 September, over the low prices farmers were receiving for their produce.