Farmers stage Muller and Wiseman Dairy protest

Hundreds of farmers from across the Midlands blockaded dairy giants Muller and Wiseman Dairy overnight as the row over milk prices escalated.

Tractors and lorries were used to block the entrances to the two Market Drayton firms, stopping lorries from leaving.

Organisers Farmers For Action said 500 people took part in protest, which was part of a co-ordinated night of demonstrations nationwide.

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Blockades were also set up in Bridgwater, Somerset and Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire.

In Shropshire, demonstrators used pots of yoghurt to spell out the words 'SOS Dairy' on a traffic island into Market Drayton as drivers blew their horns and flashed their lights in support.

One protester, sat in a bath and had milk poured over her alongside placards pointing out that the price of milk is currently cheaper than water.

Farmers For Action is warning that cuts in the price paid to suppliers by dairy processors, combined with rising feed costs, could force hundreds of dairy farmers out of business. They have vowed to continue protests outside milk processing plants until they receive a better deal.

Video of the Muller protest by Steven Bailey

One of the organisers of last night's protest, Paul Rowbottom, a farmer fromIpstones in Staffordshire, said: "We want Muller to move their milk price up to a sensible price instead of knocking it down.

"We have to get the message back to Muller and Wiseman that the price they want is not acceptable. We want everyone on the same playing field and a fair price for everyone. There are farmers here from across the country – from Berkshire to Nottinghamshire, Derby, Staffordshire and Shropshire. We are very cheesed off."

One protester, Simon Lea, 36, who farms in Loggerheads, near Market Drayton, said the future of dairy farming was under threat. He said: "We have been farming in my family for more than 50 years. It is a peaceful protest, but we need to be heard.

"We were planning to put up a new set-up in our place to improve the standards of the milk but now we wont be able to do that. We don't know if this is going to be a short-lived thing but we are already losing out."

James Glover runs Pro Ag, based in Market Drayton, and works as a contractor to farmers specialising in putting down slurry.

Mr Glover said the level of work was already being hit, which he added could affect jobs. "I employ three people, and sometimes six in the summer. But I don't know if we're going to be able to do that in the future if this continues," he said.

Last night's protest followed demonstrations outside supermarkets in Shrewsbury, Telford and Newtown on Saturday.

A spokesman for Muller said: "It is important to stress that despite milk price reductions announced elsewhere in the dairy industry, Müller Dairy has made no announcement of a milk price cut from August.

"We fully understand the strength of feeling amongst dairy producers but milk prices for all dairy products are driven by market forces and processors can only pay a price that reflects the returns from the markets in which they operate.

"The Müller Group as a whole has a long track record of paying a competitive milk price to dairy farmers in all the markets in which we operate, and we intend to maintain this approach."

A spokesman for Robert Wiseman Dairies said: "We fully understand the strength of feeling amongst dairy producers and continue to engage with those with an interest in the dairy supply chain.

"It is important to stress we are not in a position to fund a milk price at the level it was prior to the global collapse in the value of cream.

"It is our hope that the market for liquid milk and bulk cream which is at the core of this issue will quickly find a balance which will allow us to return improved prices to farmers."

Over the weekend supermarket giants Morrisons and the Co-op backed down over the price cuts and Asda has now agreed to pay 2p a litre more from August 1.