European dairy farmers claim they’ve been producing below the economic break-even point for years and staging ‘milk strikes’ in protest. But this time some are ignoring the call to action
by NORMAN DUNN
European consumers seem to be getting very tired of so-called “milk strikes” – where dairy farmers protest against low producer prices by simply pouring their milk down the drain or by blockading and stopping deliveries to processing plants.
In early summer last year, there was more popular backing for militant action when milk prices slumped for months below €0.30 or 46 Canadian cents per kilogram. The price of production on the farm averaged 60 cents, claimed the European dairy farmers’ association (EMB).