Protest group Farmers For Action has resumed its strategy of blockages against milk processors the group believes are contributing to low prices suffered by farmers.

In the week in which EU support payments were made to dairy farmers across the country, FFA held the first blockade of what it promises is a new Christmas campaign. The new campaign began earlier this month and has also involved opening dialogue with processors, retailers and food service companies. According to the group, over 100 farmers attended its picket outside the Meadow Foods plant in Chester on Tuesday night.

However, the NFU has been critical of this latest round of direct action. Ahead of Tuesday’s protest, NFU’s dairy board chair Rob Harrison issued a statement in which he said, "We continue to support peaceful, targeted protests with clear objectives. Back in the summer we did support such protests at certain retailers where there was clearly more that could be done to support farmers. Tonight's protest is different. We are not aware of any clear target or objective and for that reason we haven’t been able to support or promote it.”

Responding to criticism in a statement on Wednesday morning, Farmers for Action chair David Handley said protestors had also faced accusations that their blockade had prevented the export of dairy products from the Chester site. He claimed that the business targeted is not subscribed to the dairy industry’s voluntary code of practice and that the protest was held in response to unsustainably low prices in the industry and “bullying tactics” being used by milk buyers, including threats of loss of contracts.

Mr Handley said, “I would not be so precocious as to suggest that last night's protest will deliver more money but what it will do is cement in the heads of the management of Meadow Foods, we are certainly not going to go down without a fight.”