France:

- On August 14, farmers in Carcassonne (Languedoc-Roussillon region, Southern France) burnt bales of hay in front of the building for agricultural insurance. The protestors from FDSEA (regional association of agricultural holdings) and from among young farmers demanded implementation of the recently-concluded agreement on milk and meat prices.

- André Pflimlin, a French expert on the dairy market, published a paper on the 2015 milk crisis in early August (<link fileadmin dokumente press_release emb-allgemein download file>Crise laitière 2015: mirages et réalités). Pflimlin holds the European milk policy managed by the European Commission directly responsible for the drop in prices. He says that they have advanced the creation of a more open market and the alignment of milk prices with global market prices. The EMB Market Responsibility Programme is touted as the most promising proposal.

- Our French member organisation APLI has announced campaigns in Angers (28.8.) and Rennes (15.9.)

United Kingdom:

- On August 14, around 100 young farmers carried out another "trolley dash", where they emptied the milk shelves in an Asda Supermarket in Dorset, England.

- On the night of Sunday, August 16, the organisation Farmers for Action (FFA) organised two more demonstrations at Tesco and Farm Foods in Avonmouth (South England) and Widnes (Cheshire, England). The protest was the first to focus on cheese - rather than milk prices - and highlighted the amount imported by the supermarkets. Supermarket chain Tesco has agreed to meet with FFA on Wednesday. Further action against Farm Foods has been announced, if their management is not willing to negotiate. Protests against supermarkets and stores shall continue in the coming week in various parts of the country.  Metro report on Tesco distribution centre blockade.

- After a number of protests in the past weeks, four supermarket chains, Asda, Morrisons, Aldi and Lidl, have announced a marginal increase in milk prices. Asda, Aldi and Lidl will henceforth pay a minimum price of 28 pence per litre (around 39 cents) and Morrisons has announced 26 pence (around 37 cents), but this is still lower than real production costs.

- Northern Irish MEP Diane Dodds has started a public petition calling on Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan to take steps to provide support to British farmers. The main points of this signature campaign are fair prices, combatting the imbalance in the delivery chain and raising the intervention price for milk.

Belgium:

- To raise awareness about their situation, Flemish farmers organised a protest with about 200 tractors on Sunday, August 16 in Geraardsbergen (East Flanders) as a side event to the "Eneco-Tour" bicycle race. They protested against milk prices that do allow them to even cover costs as also against new rules in Flanders regarding environmental protection.

- Our Belgian Member organisation MIG and the young farmers have announced another blockade this evenig (18 August) in the province of Liège.

- Detailed TV report about the protests in Belgium and an interview with Christian Wiertz, vice-president of MIG Belgium (in French)

Germany:

- Around 200 farmers from Schleswig-Holstein protested against the drop in prices of agricultural commodities on Friday, August 14 in Hohenwestedt. The German farmers association has called its members to a protest rally. Farmers from the BDM (Bundesverband Deutscher Milchviehhalter) already took to the streets on Wednesday in Rendsburg to protest against the decreasing milk price.

- The Arbeitsgemeinschaft bäuerliche Landwirtschaft (AbL) rejects a one-sided export focus and wishes to reduce the surplus supply of milk and pork. In their latest press release, the AbL proposes incentivising a reduction in milk production for a limited period as a short-term measure. This should be financed by the recently-imposed super levy. They also call for a quality campaign in order to create long-term perspectives for dairy farms.

- The German Farmers' Association (DBV), on the other hand, is backing further export promotion. According to the news magazine Focus of 15.08.15, DBV President Rukwied is asking the extraordinary Agriculture Council on September 7 for "concrete decisions towards a support programme". According to Rukwied, the EU should also "launch an export campaign for agricultural products and food stuffs, which can be financed by the super levy."

Spain:

Our Spanish member association OPL has announced another protest on August 20 in Vilalba (Galicia) and is preparing for a large tractor demonstration. Images from the last campaign in Lalín (12 August).

The <link fileadmin dokumente press_release emb-allgemein download file>OPL press release (in Spanish)

International:

The Allgemeine Zeitung reports that there is currently surplus production of milk in South Africa as well and that this has a devastating effect on the very small dairy industry in Namibia. According to the AZ, South African UHT milk is cheaper on shelves in Namibia than in Cape Town. Dairy farmers fear for their livelihood. Instead of buying cheaper goods from other countries, consumers are urged to buy Namibian products that are hormone-free and to thus support the local industry and jobs.