Members of the Irish Farmers' Association's Liquid Milk Committee have been summonsed to a special sitting of the High Court in Dublin today to explain why they should not be imprisoned for breaching a High Court order preventing the blockade of a Co Donegal dairy.
Since Tuesday last Natural Dairies Ltd, Convoy, has been blockaded by dairy farmers who claim that the plant is supplying milk to Dunnes Stores which is selling it at below cost which they claim will put dairy farmers out of business.
When news of the court moves reached the farmers on the blockade a spokesman for the group said they were prepared to continue their picket.
"If any of our people are arrested they will immediately be replaced by at least two more. We cannot allow this company put us out of business," he said.
Three protesters were arrested outside the dairy yesterday after a local milk retailer tried to cross the 30-strong picket line.
Extra gardai were drafted into Convoy around lunchtime when negotiations with the protesters failed to reach agreement on allowing supplies out for local house-to-house deliveries.
According to Garda Insp Vincent O'Brien, a scuffle broke out and milk was spilled after dairy staff started to pass milk through the picket line to a waiting van.
"There was pushing and shoving. Three of the protesting farmers went beyond the mark and were arrested for a breach of the peace," Insp O'Brien said.
They were later released without charge and a file will be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The farmers are claiming that the 86p retail price of a two-litre carton of milk currently being sold by Dunnes Stores and supplied by Natural Dairies will lead to lower milk prices from processors.
Supplies of raw milk have been prevented from reaching the processing plant since the blockade began in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
The Competition Authority was granted an interim injunction on Wednesday restraining two named farmers and any other person having notice of the order from blockading the plant, which takes most of its milk from the North.
However, the blockade continued.
Yesterday evening, the Competition Authority and the company, which issued its 25 workers with protective notice, sought to widen the scope of the High Court order by seeking a committal order against the 36-member Liquid Milk Committee and the IFA's Donegal organiser, Mr Michael McHugh.
Since the dispute began, the dairy farmers who have been blockading the premises, said they were organising the protest on their own and while most were members of the Irish Farmers' Association it was not an IFA protest.
Mr Tom Parlon, president of the IFA, also denied that his organisation had arranged the protest but said he understood why they were taking action against the company.
Mr Parlon also issued a statement last night calling on Dunnes Stores to take responsibility for the conflict which had arisen between individual farmers and the dairy at Convoy.
A spokesman for the IFA said last night that its lawyers were examining the court order.
The IFA was fined £500,000 by the High Court in January last for continuing to blockade meat plants despite orders from the court not to do so.
The High Court committal proceedings are scheduled for noon today in Dublin.