Protests occurred in Banbridge, Enniskillen and Coleraine last night in the wake of two similar protests last Thursday and Friday in Coleraine and Strabane.

In Banbridge and Enniskillen farmers arrived in tractors at supermarkets and removed milk from refrigerators into trolleys and took them to the checkout, known as “the #MilkTrolleyChallenge” on social media.

Reports suggest that the protests in Banbridge andEnniskillen were smaller than the Coleraine protest, which had 15 tractors, a dung spreader, a slurry tanker and approximately 50 protesters.

In Coleraine, weary of bad press, protesters decided not to remove milk and instead opted to leave trolleys along side milk refrigerators and then stand outside supermarkets.

The Coleraine protest began at a Sainsbury’s store around 8.30pm then moved to an Asda where efforts to block out a milk delivery lorry were too late. The protest concluded at a Tesco’s store where farmers stopped a Dale Farm lorry from getting through the delivery gates of the store.

There was an increased media presence at last night’s demonstration in Coleraine and police were present throughout proceedings. Protesters were warned by police, after the delivery lorry had been delayed for a time, that they were trespassing, but protesters refused to move until about an hour after the lorry had left.

Eventually the delivery was made at 11.30 pm after the protesters had gone home.

Fair price

Many involved in the industry and in the wider public have criticised such protests saying that they will do nothing to lift the price of milk or any other farm commodity.

However, one protester responded: “It may not do much for raising the price but we are here to highlight the problems we face in the industry. The supermarkets are not all to blame but they are devaluing our product by low prices and making increased profit from low wholesale prices they pay.”

Mixed farmer Michael Graham from Garvagh said that although things are tight for farmers now, further drops in prices for farm produce will hurtfarm supply businesses more.

The Coleraine protesters were keen not to annoy consumers who were shopping and tried to engage with some shoppers about issues they face.

Shopper Andrew Rankin from Magherafelt said: “It is not right that farmers are making such a loss whilst others continue to do well in the supply chain. There should be a minimum price to cover costs for most farmers.”

However, some shoppers did show their unhappiness that demonstrators had blocked or slowed up traffic in or around the store.