After Farmers for Action (FFA) promised to return to the Muller dairy in Market Drayton, petitioning for a pay increase for non-aligned milk producers, the protest group announced information on further protests late on Wednesday. Around 80 farmers blockaded the site on Sunday evening.

FFA’s first action was in response to Muller’s decision not to increase milk prices for non-aligned members in September, despite a much better outlook for dairy prices on international markets after two years of decline. After Sunday night’s action in Shropshire, FFA issued a further call-out to farmers on Wednesday, giving details of meeting points in Shropshire, Staffordshire Derbyshire and Somerset for Thursday evening.  

In response to Sunday’s protest, Muller claimed the farmers behind the blockade were not suppliers and said they “Should not claim to represent  the 1,900 farmers who do supply us.”

Even so, FFA said in a statement on its website, “While Muller's benign Farmer Board sit back and accept no price increase for September, farmers and farmworkers seek record amounts of monies from charities.” According to the group, RABI paid out almost the same amount to hard farmers and workers in the first six months of 2016 as it did in the whole of 2015. FFA said, “This is a disgrace in 2016. The company shows no corporate responsibility or any respect for their hard working non aligned producers.

“We now need to inform the consumer head on, that this brand sends its producers to the charity queue.”

Non-aligned suppliers make up around a third of Muller’s supply base.