New national farmer protest group Proud to Farm claims its supporters protested at more than 30 retail sites across the country on Friday 13 October.
Photos on X (formerly Twitter) showed tractors and a four-wheel drive vehicle parked in front of a lorry outside Sainsbury’s Houndsmills distribution centre in Basingstoke. In a post ahead of the protest, the group, which was formed by former farmer Martin Fox in August, said: ‘The time is now for the public and farmers to unite. Farming is an essential part of our society and we are losing it. Fairness and transparency are a future for our sons and daughters, let’s save farming together. A video with locations across the UK will be available shortly. We need your voice.’
One social media user posted, “Farmers blocking the Sainsbury distribution centre right now in Basingstoke protesting against unfair pricing. Tractors everywhere. Well done local farming community.”
Martin Fox told Farmers Weekly, “We cannot live without food. We all need to eat. The great thing about British farming is you can trust our produce. It is top quality and has been farmed to the highest standards. It all comes down to farmers being paid fairly for what they produce. Why should farmers be paid below the cost of production?”
Another confirmed protest took place at Tesco’s warehouse in Southampton where pig farmer Flavian Obeiro warned, “As a farmer, we get paid by supermarkets what they think their products should cost, rather than what the product actually costs.”