Des (left) and Tadhg O’Keefe get plenty of milk on their family’s Winslow dairy farm, but were happy to gulp down more at yesterday’s Friday night market at Lake Pertobe. They sampled south-west dairy products at a display organised by newly-formed lobby group Farmer Power.
A GRASSMERE family has kept up the fight to keep locally-made dairy brands on south-west shelves.
Earlier this week John and Vashti Houston were among a small number of demonstrators outside Centro shopping centre.
But yesterday evening the couple took a more measured approach, showcasing locally- made goods in a grassroots move to shore up support for dairy farmers.
South-west produced milk, cheese, yoghurt and other goods were given a spotlight at Lake Pertobe market.
“These are all locally made products that affect farmers directly,” Ms Houston said.
“People want to support farmers and the only way you can is by buying these products.”
Ms Houston said Farmer Power had been well received but consumers now wanted to know what to buy.
The couple run an agricultural contracting business and were among a dozen protestors at Centro this week after frustrations spilled over in the wake of Noorat’s dairy crisis meeting.
Yesterday they collected signatures at the Lake Pertobe market for Farmer Power, which will eventually use the weight of names to bring pressure to the government and dairy companies.
“Most businesses in the region are very reliant on farming,” Mr Houston said.
“If you go into a shop and ask for these brands they will stock them on the shelves.”