A new range of milk and cheese which pays farmers more for their milk has gone on sale in Morrisons.
Earlier this year the retailer said it would launch the Milk for Farmers brand in a bid to give customers the option to pay more for their milk, and in turn give more back to the dairy farmer.
This follows protests and meetings with farm leaders over the poor prices being paid to farmers for their milk.
The retailer said the brand will be available in all of its stores and represent around 20% of all the milk on offer.
Shoppers will be given the option to buy a standard four-pint bottle of milk for 89 pence or to pay £1.12 for the Milk for Farmers brand, guaranteeing that an extra 23 pence will go directly back to the farmer.
The retailer’s corporate services director, Martyn Jones, said: “When surveyed, many customers tell us that they are prepared to pay more for their milk to support British dairy farmers and this will be the first time that they’ll be given the opportunity to do exactly that.
“We will be giving Milk For Farmers our full support and the sales will show whether customers in our supermarkets are prepared to pay more.
He said Milk for Farmers Cheddar cheese would also be available, in either mature or extra mature, guaranteeing an extra 34 pence from ever pack sold going back to the farmer who supplied the milk to make the cheese.
The cheese will be priced at £2.52 for a 350g pack, or two packs for £4.
The introduction of the brand has been cautiously welcomed by industry, however NFU Scotland’s policy manager George Jamieson this week warned against retailers looking to gain “spurious PR brownie points through ‘philanthropic’ commitments to pay farmers more on a short-term basis”.
Mr Jamieson has called for a complete overhaul of the food supply chain.
He says fundamental change, rather than stunts, is needed to ensure farmers survive in the future.