'We are being hammered and pushed out of business': 'Trailer of Truth' national farmer protest rolls into Shropshire
Angry farmers voiced their fury that they are being "hammered" by the Government, as a nationwide protest tour rolled into Shropshire.
In a stunt organised by campaign group Farmers To Action (FTA), the 'Trailer of Truth' made a stop outside the Halls Shrewsbury Auction Centre and Livestock Market on Thursday (September 25).
The convoy aims to highlight the growing pressures facing the UK’s farming industry, including food prices and rising costs, concerns over tax policy and government support.
Local farmers and residents were invited to sign a large petition banner mounted on the the trailer to show solidarity with the cause.
Shropshire farmer and campaigner Alan Hughes, who drove the 'Trailer of Truth' to Shrewsbury, said the initiative carries an urgent message from farmers across the UK about the 'growing crisis' in British agriculture.
"It is no longer affordable to feed everybody," he said. "For a loaf of bread we used to get around 14 pence of a £1.38 loaf - we are now getting 11 pence.
"It costs 12 pence to produce. So not only is the Government driving the food prices up for the general publish for consumers, but reducing the amount farmers are being paid.
"We have had one of the worst harvests on record this year through the drought. Our costs are soaring. We are being hammered and pushed out of business by Government policy and red tape on supermarket prices, making it unaffordable to feed the nation.
"If we are not careful, we are going to head into a food security crisis where there will be less food and food inflation goes through the roof and that drives up the cost of living.
"We are already seeing that, food prices are going through the roof and the public are struggling to get quality food to eat. This has to change."
The Shrewsbury event is part of a wider national campaign that has seen protest convoys travel through locations across the UK. Earlier this week, one of the trailers passed through central London, making its way through Westminster, Whitehall, Trafalgar Square, and past the offices of Defra.
The protest involves three ‘Trailers of Truth' that each set off from a different region - one from Scotland, one from Cornwall travelling through England, and another making its way across Wales.
Each trailer is decorated with campaign banners, flags, and messaging designed to raise awareness of the challenges facing British farmers. Along their routes, the trailers are stopping at livestock markets and rural communities to engage with both the public and the farming community.
Supporters are being encouraged to sign a large petition banner and share their personal testimonies. The campaign will culminate in a mass rally in Liverpool this Sunday, outside the Labour Party Conference, where organisers hope to deliver their message to the Government: "Save British farming."
