Dairy farmers in Europe are so angry about the state of their industry that they sprayed powdered milk on the EU headquarters Monday, the Associated Press reported.
A group of farmers in the European Milk Board organized a convoy of tractors to drive through Brussels, Belgium, and coat the EU headquarters with fluffy white milk powder.
Financial Times Journalist James Brunsden posted a photo of the action on Twitter.
EU agriculture ministers are holding a monthly meeting on farm trade issues Monday, and the European Milk Board is requesting further intervention to increase milk prices.
The EU intervened in the dairy market to purchase and stockpile powdered milk as prices began to drop several years ago. The EU has stockpiled 772 million pounds of powdered milk since September 2014, and began releasing that milk for sale last November.
A reporter with French news outlet Agence France-Presse posted a video with the caption “Producers angry: dumping of milk powder on the European Council.”
Producteurs en colère : Déversement de lait en poudre sur le Conseil européen (vidéo) #AGRIFISH #AFP pic.twitter.com/PneWku7aai
— Marine Laouchez (@marilcz) January 23, 2017
Dairy farmers believe its too soon to start dumping that milk, and are asking for a “permanent crisis instrument” to prevent selling any of the stockpiled powdered milk.
This isn’t the first time dairy farmers have protested the EU’s policies by spraying milk. Last March farmers sprayed liquid milk on the EU headquarters, again arguing for greater market intervention.
American dairy farmers are also feeling the squeeze of globally low milk prices. The U.S. Department of Agriculture completed a bulk purchase of millions of pounds of surplus cheese last fall.
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