Spraying manure and throwing beets, farmers in tractors again block Brussels to protest EU policies

By RAF CASERT and MARK CARLSON
Associated Press

BRUSSELS (AP) — Farmers are throwing beets and spraying manure at police as hundreds of tractors have sealed off streets close to the European Union headquarters. Agriculture ministers are seeking to ease a crisis that has led to months of protests across the 27-member bloc. The farmers are protesting what they see as excessive red tape and unfair trading practices as well as increased environmental measures and cheap imports from Ukraine. Farmers have already won concessions from EU and national authorities, from a loosening of controls on farms to a weakening of pesticide and environmental rules. Environmentalists and climate activists say the changes will haunt the bloc later.