Angry farmers blockade Shropshire dairy

They prevented lorries from entering or leaving the dairy, cheering as drivers were forced to turn away.

Organisers today declared the protest a huge success, with around 500 people turning up from Shropshire, Mid Wales and beyond to demand better milk prices.

The campaigners, with protest group Farmers for Action, marched from Market Drayton's Livestock Centre to take up position outside the dairy plant last night.

The protestors stood fast outside the plant, a major employer in the town, late into the night.

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They said the action was a last resort as Muller was refusing to talks with farmers after announcing it would be cutting the price paid to farmers for milk by 1.9 pence per litre from November to 27.1p per litre – on top of a previous reduction that took effect from Wednesday and an earlier cut in August.

David Handley, Farmers for Action chairman said the protest was a "line in the sand", and expected other protests around the country to follow.

But Muller today asked the campaign group to stop and think before it carries out further protests.

It said the action could cause further damage to the industry, which is already under severe pressure from steep falls in the value of commodities like cream and butter.

Reporter Thomas Morton was at the protest:

Farmer Rob Cope, 61, of Bawhill Farm in Adderley, was among the farmers descending on the plant last night. He and his son Syeve, 34, brought a trailor and tractor from their nearby farm.

Mr Cope said: "We run a dairy unit with 800 cows. We have taken two knocks on our price and we don't know where it is going to end.

"We cannot accept fluctuations in the price going forward because it makes it impossible for us to budget. We have got to stop volatility. We had a few good months when everything was fine and now we are back to square one or worse."

Paul Rowbetton, the Farmers for Action co-ordinator, said around 500 people had turned up, which was more than he had expected.

He said: They have come from all over the region. I am delighted with the turn out.

"At the end of the day nobody wants to go protesting but we are left with no choice.

"We tried to speak to managers at Muller last week and they came back with nothing at all. Protesting might just get their attention."

Jeremy Lowe, NFU regional dairy board spokesman, said the union was talking to the Government, supermarkets and processors such as Muller over the price of milk.

He said: "Many Shropshire dairy farmers are feeling financial pain following the downturn in global dairy commodity prices and the significant farm gate price cuts of the past few months.

"We understand the real issues our dairy members face and the union continues to talk with processors, supermarkets and Government on their behalf.

"We remain committed to fighting for functioning markets and fairer contracts.

"This ultimately is the best way to achieve farm gate milk prices that fairly reflect the value of milk."