European Dairies

 European dairy farmers vs. our dairy farmers. It’s amazing. All over the world people take potshots at us Americans all the time characterizing us as being the aggressor. Excuse me but in a recent eruption in Belgium. Hundreds of dairy farmers drove tractors into Belgium's capital to pressure farming administrators and government bigwigs on declining milk prices. 20 of 27 member nations called for more protection from the volatile world market. About 1,000 farmers from Germany, France and other EU nations protested outside the emergency meeting, throwing bottles and eggs at police, burning tires and hay and dumping manure. This is apparently not a strategy that would work very well over here according to Bob Neaerbout, Executive Director of the Idaho Dairymens Association: “I’m not sure how much gets accomplished particularly here in the United States, that’s a good photo op, and it obviously gets you press coverage, maybe it gets you somewhere in the European Market but not here.

The Swedish Farm Minister said that the key to better prices lies with the middlemen between the farm and supermarkets, who have skimmed off the profits from lower milk prices.