The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, which oversees Defra's work, has written to the environment secretary demanding to know what the government is doing to support dairy farmers. Milk prices continue to fall in the UK, and farmers have launched protests in response to repeated price cuts in recent months.   

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EFRA committee chair Anne McIntosh said on Monday, "Our Committee has taken a close interest in the dairy industry, publishing a report in 2011 with a series of recommendations for Government action.  We would like an update on the implementation of changes to ensure our dairy farmers can continue to invest for the future at a time of volatile market prices.

"We also want the Government look at how best to manage the relationship between indirect suppliers, such as dairy farmers, and retailers and whether the voluntary code of practice applying to contracts between farmers and dairy processors should be made mandatory."

The voluntary code was established in the wake of protests in 2012 which saw militant farmers' groups join with the National Farmers Union. This time, however, the NFU has dismissed protests, maintaining that working with milk buyers is the best course of action.

Though she agreed with industry groups and the NFU that price cuts have been made in response to shifts on the global commodity markets, environment secretary Liz Truss has promised to meet with farmers' representatives this week in light of mounting frustration at the situation.

The government action follows the fifth blockade in farmers' current campaign of direct action. On Thursday 16th October, farmers demonstrated at the Iceland depot in Warrington. Iceland caused outrage amongst farmers on both sides of the direct action debate when, as protests against falling milk prices were gainaing momentum, the supermarket slashed the price of four pints of milk to 89 pence.