NFU President Meurig Raymond called the decision a 'welcome first step'.
The line is expected to cost around ten pence more per litre than the retailer's other offerings, with the extra to be given to farmers within Arla, Britain's biggest milk co-operative.
The move follows talks with farming organisations including the NFU today, hot on the heels of a UK unions’ crisis summit yesterday.
Morrisons branches have been subject to a series of demonstrations in the last two weeks.
Milk for Farmers is expected to be in stores in the autumn and is aimed at "shoppers who want to directly support dairy farmers". It will sit alongside standard-priced own brand milk in the dairy aisle.
NFU Dairy Board Chairman, Rob Harrison, said: “This is a welcome first step and we now need to ensure that Morrison’s have the resources to promote this product in store and ensure it is displayed prominently, with the Red Tractor clearly visible to shoppers. In the coming days we will continue to have discussions with Morrison’s about how they can introduce further initiatives to support dairy, including with cheese and yoghurt.
“We are pleased that Morrison’s has acknowledged the desperate situation that farmers find themselves in and that retailers have a role to play in finding a solution. Shoppers have been telling us, as well as independent studies, that they are willing to pay more for milk and today’s announcement from Morrison’s will enable them to do just that.
“As a major retailer Morrison’s needs to take more responsibility for the sales of their own label milk and dairy products to ensure that farmers are receiving a fair price and that they are responsibly sourced. Although Morrison’s have said that they will take make no further cuts to the supply chain, the dairy industry has now faced more than 15 months of continual price decreases and the small amount of action seen today has taken far too long to appear, we must see more done to stop farmers from bearing the brunt of extreme volatility.
“Now is the time to back British farming and we need to see Morrison’s customers choosing to spend just a few pence extra on milk, in order to ensure this nutritious, high quality, British produce stays on the shelves for years to come.”
NFU President Meurig Raymond said: “This is a welcome first step. We need Morrisons to make sure there is plenty of resource available to promote this product. It must also be displayed prominently in-store.
"We have also had discussions with Morrisons about how it can introduce further initiatives to support dairy, including cheese, butter and yoghurt. We will continue to urge Morrisons and all retailers to ensure that farmers from all sectors who supply their food get a fair price.”
More...
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- Backing British dairy: Our Q&A
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- Morrisons must go further on milk, says NFU
Morrisons’ corporate services director Martyn Jones said: “We recognise that the current market for liquid milk is impacting on hardworking dairy farmers and their families. We want to reassure the industry that the retail price we charge for Morrisons milk reflects the highly competitive retail market. It is not linked to the price we pay our milk suppliers.
“We want to offer practical help by launching a range of 4-pint milk at a retail premium of 10p per litre, all of which will be passed back directly to dairy farmers. We will stock this product in all our stores.”
Representatives from Morrisons met representatives from the UK's four main farming unions - the NFU, NFU Cymru, NFU Scotland and the Ulster Farmers' Union, along with lobby group Farmers for Action.