German dairy farmers seek help of Pope

A small group of German dairy farmers are travelling to see the Pope in the hope they can raise awareness of the plight of Europe’s dairy sector.

Producer prices have slumped by around 25% over the past 12 months and most EU dairy farmers are receiving just 20-22 cents/litre (17.5-19p/litre) – way below the cost of production.

According to the Independent Catholic News, four men have left their homes in the north east of Germany and slowly making their way towards Rome.

The group belong to the German Federal Association of Dairy Farmers and are travelling under the motto “We have lost our faith in politics, but not the church.”

They hope that Pope Benedict will grant them an audience and then use his influence to help stricken milk producers.

Meanwhile, protests around the EU headquarters in Brussels have continued as farmers demand action to solve the crisis.

Hundreds of farmers gathered on Wednesday (22 July)  – bringing travel chaos as they travelled through the city on tractors.