The €500m package to help alleviate the crisis in farm prices that was unveiled today by EU Farm Commissioner Phil Hogan has three strands.

The first is addressing the cashflow difficulties farmers are facing. Member states will be given a portion of the €500m to distribute as a new, once-off direct payment to dairy farmers. It will not be available to pig or grain producers or other sectors. There will be flexibility for farm ministers on how to allocate this funding to its dairy farmers. The amount of funding that will be available for this direct payment measure will be decided over coming weeks.

Cashflow will separately be helped by the 70% advance in 2015 Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) and greening payments, confirmed by EU Commissioner for Agriculture Phil Hogan and which will be paid out from 16 October. Along with this will be an 85% advance payment on Rural Development Programme schemes. The advance of 2015 BPS and greening payments is not included in the new funding of €500m.

Watch footage from the farmers' protest ahead of the EU Agriculture Council meeting

The second strand of today’s package is aimed at stabilising markets. This will include a new and improved private storage scheme for dairy protein products; a new private storage scheme for pigmeat; and additional funding for the promotion of dairy products and pigmeat. The new promotion policy will make it easier to access funding, Commissioner Hogan has promised.

The third part of the package will address the functioning of the supply chain. It will include the establishment a new high-level EU group to focus on specific issues including credit for farmers, futures markets for agricultural products and the vulnerable position of farmers in the market supply chain.

The report on the milk package originally foreseen for 2018 will be brought forward to 2016. The package will also address a number of wider societal issues including possible providing better nutrition to vulnerable groups such as refugees using products such as milk powder. The package was presented by council vice-president Jyrki Katainen, speaking on behalf of Commissioner Phil Hogan, who was indisposed.

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