The two cows were surprisingly relaxed given the bright lights and packed crowd. They lumbered quietly behind two young boys, past shelves of herbs and spices and then the milk fridges at the back. Even a tug by a flustered police officer did little to upset them. “You need to get them out of here right now,” the officer warned. “Don’t touch the animal,” a man snapped. Stafford’s local Asda hadn’t seen such drama in a long time.

It was the summer of 2015, and the sight of cows marching through UK supermarkets was among a wave of farmer protests in which processing plants  were also blockaded and milk given away for free outside stores. Farmers were irate that the likes of Morrisons and Asda were selling milk for less than it cost them to produce – while the supermarkets insisted the shelf price had nothing to do with what farmers got paid.

Who won? Well, it seems bringing a couple of farm animals on to your adversary’s home patch is rather a good way to get what you want. All supermarkets eventually pledged to offer farmers a better price for their milk. Tesco and Sainsbury’s had introduced the first such agreements in 2007 – but they’ve been improved and are generally acknowledged as a boost for dairy farmers lucky enough to get one.