Swiss farmers unite in a powerful protest for equitable milk prices and sustainable farming conditions, marking a significant moment in Switzerland’s agricultural landscape.

Hundreds of farmers protested for better working conditions in several places in western and German-speaking Switzerland on Thursday. They gathered with tractors and sent out symbolic cries for help. They criticized what they see as too low a milk price.

Larger gatherings took place in Echallens VD, Boudevilliers NE, Perly-Certoux GE, Lussy FR, Saignelégier JU and Reconvilier BE in particular. Demonstrations also took place in Gossau SG, Weiningen TG and Amriswil TG, among others. Several dozen tractors were counted in Gossau. Further mobilizations were planned for Friday, for example in the canton of Zurich.

“The aim is to put pressure on the prices of our products,” said Arnaud Rochat, farmer from Bavois VD and co-initiator of the farmers’ protests. “Farmers are demanding prices that are worthwhile in the long term so that our profession is viable. We want to be paid for what we produce at prices that take our costs into account. It’s still a problem when milk is cheaper than bottled water.”

Against “Misguided Agricultural Policy”

But the aim is also for people to better perceive and understand farmers.” The “agricultural revolt” is an opportunity to “give hope to a new, motivated young generation of farmers and secure a happy future”, said Rochat.

At the demonstration in Gossau, a farmer told the Keystone-SDA news agency that people were expressing their dissatisfaction with the “misguided agricultural policy with contradictory regulations and the excessively low milk price”.

Following the farmers’ mobilizations in France, Germany and other European countries, the revolt also reached Switzerland at the end of January. On Saturday, for example, farmers in western Switzerland lit protest fires in several places. They called for solidarity in the face of demands for better pay. The population was invited to join the movement.

Petition to the Federal Council

On 12 February, the Swiss Farmers’ Union and other organizations handed over a petition signed by 65,000 people to the federal government and various large retailers calling for greater recognition of the commitment of the agricultural sector. The petition calls on the Federal Council not to make savings at the expense of farmers

And in a joint communication, the Swiss Farmers’ Union (SBC), the French-speaking Swiss farmers’ organization Agora and the Chambers of Agriculture of Western Switzerland expressed their concern about the situation of Swiss farmers. Their demand: In future, prices should be set on the basis of production costs and the risks taken in order to ensure an adequate income.

©Keystone/SDA