Lancashire farmers to march in convoy close to M6 junction

The rally, which has been organised by the newly formed Lancashire Farmers Movement, is aiming to highlight the plight of not only British farmers, but those across the EU.

Farmers nationwide claim they are struggling due to people not buying local produce and supermarkets not paying them a 'fair price' for their goods, while also importing produce such as meat and vegetables at cheaper prices, from countries as far away as Thailand and Morocco.

Farm workers in Wales are already protesting about a proposed overhaul of farming subsidies they say threaten their industry, while Europe has seen major protests by farmers.

The rally, on Sunday, March 10, is expected to begin at around 10.30am at the Tickled Trout Hotel, close to junction 31 of the M6.

A convoy of tractors, farm workers and supporters are then expected to head up the A677 Preston New Road towards Samlesbury Hall, before looping round and back to the Tickled Trout, heading up Brockholes hill towards the Hesketh’s Arms pub, and then back down towards junction 31.

A poster advertising the Lancashire rally (Image: Lancashire Farmers Movement)

A spokesperson for Lancashire Farmers Movement said: “We want to get as many people as possible on the roundabouts with yellow boards and placards with the words ‘No Farmers, No Food’.

“We have a stage for any speakers who wish to address points to others, and farmers who wish to speak are welcome to come forward. We have also invited the National Farmers Union to come and speak too.

“There are many farmers who are struggling; at one time you could say you never saw a poor farmer, but that’s not the case now.

“So many farmers have to go out and find other jobs to cover their costs to pay the rent on the farming land, because they are being ripped off by the supermarkets and are not being paid what they need or deserve to survive.

“If this continues, British farmers will be priced out, the supermarkets will swallow everything up and that means less farms, which will eventually become no farms or farmers, and then no food.

“This is why we have to support the British farmers.

“Our government is always telling people that by supporting British farmers we will help the economy, so let's do it.

“We want this to be the start of joining farming groups across the country together.

“If we do not do this there will be no farmers, there will be no food.

“We have to fight to keep the farming community alive. This has to be stopped.”

Lancashire Farmers Movement said they have chosen to stage the march on a Sunday to cause as little disruption to traffic as possible, and say their convoy will be marshalled responsibly by members of the organisation.

The National Farmers Union has confirmed to the Lancashire Telegraph it will not be attending the rally.

A spokesperson for Lancashire Police said: "We are aware of a post on social media advertising a planned protest. We are making further enquiries."

An NFU spokesperson said: “Years of unsustainably high production costs and crop losses because of extreme weather are putting farming families under mounting pressure.

“The British public have demonstrated invaluable support. In 2020, more than a million people signed the NFU’s petition to safeguard British food and farming standards which led to greater government scrutiny over trade deals, and in 2023 nearly 50,000 signatures led to the Prime Minister hosting a Food Security Summit.

“We do not take this support or its influence for granted, and it’s why protests, although not to be ruled out, should always be a last resort.”

Lancashire County Council has been contacted for comment.

At the National Farmers Union annual conference last week, shadow environment minister Daniel Zeichner promised a Labour government would “resolutely back British farmers”.

He said the party would lower the red tape produce faced at borders, seeking a deal with the EU that would get British food exports moving again, and ensure standards are safeguarded, he told delegates.

He also said a Labour government would ensure at least half of all food in hospitals and prisons is locally produced or certified to higher environmental production standards.

Mr Zeichner said: “Food security is national security.

“So, a Labour government will resolutely back British farmers, reducing our reliance on insecure imports, supporting high quality, local produce for consumers, and ending the shameful new reality of those empty supermarket shelves.”

The announcement of the Lancashire rally on March 10 comes as thousands of people descended on the Welsh Parliament on Wednesday (February 28) in protest at the proposed overhaul of farming subsidies they say threaten their industry.

Protesters, who had travelled from across the country to attend the event, cheered, waved Welsh flags and held placards in Welsh and English reading ‘No Farmers, No Food’, with a huge row of tractors parked up in Cardiff Bay.

They were objecting to proposals by the Welsh government to require more land to be set aside for environmental schemes.

A series of protests have already taken place across Wales but the event in Cardiff Bay on Wednesday was the largest by far, attended by thousands of farmers.

The protesters were objecting to the sustainable farming scheme (SFS), which is currently under consultation and would require 10 per cent of a farmer’s land to be covered in trees in exchange for future funding.

Farming leaders say the scheme could result in 5,500 job losses.

An NFU spokesperson said “Years of unsustainably high production costs and crop losses because of extreme weather are putting farming families under mounting pressure.

“The British public have demonstrated invaluable support. In 2020, more than a million people signed the NFU’s petition to safeguard British food and farming standards which led to greater government scrutiny over trade deals, and in 2023 nearly 50,000 signatures led to the Prime Minister hosting a Food Security Summit.

“We do not take this support or its influence for granted, and it’s why protests, although not to be ruled out, should always be a last resort.”

Prior to Wednesday’s protest, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak met campaigners outside the Welsh Conservative Conference in Llandudno on February 23, where he offered his support for their cause, telling them he was “sorry for what you are going through”.

He said: “We’re going to do everything we can because we’ve got your back.”

Also on February 23, angry French farmers headed to Paris on their tractors in a protest demanding more government support and simpler regulations, on the eve of a major agricultural fair in the French capital.

Dozens of tractors drove into Paris carrying flags from Rural Co-ordination, the farmers’ union that staged the protest.

The latest protest comes three weeks after farmers lifted roadblocks around Paris and elsewhere in the country after the government offered more than 400 million euros to address their grievances over low earnings, heavy regulation and what they describe as unfair competition from abroad.

French farmers’ actions are part of a broader protest movement in Europe against EU agriculture policies, bureaucracy and overall business conditions.

Farmers complain that the 27-nation bloc’s environmental policies, such as the Green Deal, which calls for limits on the use of chemicals and on greenhouse gas emissions, limit their business and make their products more expensive than non-EU imports.

Other protests are being staged across France, Greece, Spain and Poland, as farmers seek to put pressure on the government to implement its promises.

On February 26, farmers also clashed with police in Belgium, spraying officers with liquid manure and setting fire to piles of tyres in a fresh show of force as European Union agriculture ministers met in search of ways to address their concerns.

Brussels police said 900 tractors had entered the city, many bearing down on the European Council building where the ministers were meeting.

The farmers were said to be angry at red tape and competition from cheap imports from countries where the EU’s relatively high standards do not have to be met.

Earlier this month, Labour said they would keep the government’s post-Brexit farm payments system but make it work without “short-term lurches” if the party wins the next election.

While the Liberal Democrats said an extra £1 billion should be injected into the farming budget, as they seek to win over rural voters ahead of this year’s general election.

Meanwhile, Rishi Sunak is believed to have pledged that he will “never take our food security for granted” as he outlined support for farmers in a speech to the sector on February 20.

To support the Lancashire farmers in their plight, head to the peaceful protest on March 10, which will be starting at around 10.30am from the Tickled Trout close to junction 31 of the M6.