Milk farmers step up direct action across Europe

Dairy farmers, bludgeoned by low milk prices, dumped some 3 million litres of milk onto Belgian fields on Wednesday (16 February), in a desperate attempt to convince European politicians to come to their aid.

Using manure trucks, around 300 farmers covered fields near the town of Ciney with the equivalent of a day's production in southern Belgium.

Following a peak in milk prices in mid-2008, world markets have seen a sharp decline. A recent drop of some 40 percent has pushed milk...