Photo Gallery German Milk Wars
German dairy farmers started a strike on Tuesday to protest the low cost of milk. The protest involves not delivering milk to the dairies that process and distribute the milk.
Delivery or not, the milk still keeps coming. The average daily output for a German cow is 18 liters (4.75 gallons). That milk can be made into 3.5 packs of butter or 2.2 kilograms (4.9 pounds) of cheese.
But farmers are finding ways to use the milk. Here, Thomas Bijamin pours fresh milk into a trough for his hard-working cows to enjoy.
Here, another farmer dumps 2,000 liters (528 gallons) of fresh milk onto the floor. But it's not going to waste. Pipes will take the milk to the slurry container from where the milk will be used to fertilize the farmer's fields.
Dairy farmers have also been holding protests across the country. Here, a young boy in traditional Bavarian costume sits on a miniture cow with the words "the fair milk" painted on its side.
In April, farmers began their protests after a number of major German supermarket chains (including Aldi) announced that they were reducing the price of milk. The farmers accused them of exploiting their market dominance to dictate prices.
The farmers also have other complaints. First, they believe the price of milk should be raised to reflect increased production costs, due to rising oil and feed prices. Second, the farmers feel that they do not get a fair deal from the dairies.
Christine Schneebichler is a Bavarian farmer participating in the boycott. "I'd rather toss my milk out than give it to the dairy as a present," Schneebichler told the AP.
Representatives of the dairy and related retail industries believe that a glut of supply will make the farmers' action futile. But now farmers from across Europe are beginning to join their German counterparts in solidarity by declaring their own boycotts.
