They say dairy farmers are struggling to stay in business because of a sharp drop in the amount they are paid.
On Monday farming unions met to develop an action plan calling for labels to indicate British products and long-term contracts for farmers.
Farmers have also been staging protests, including taking two cows into a supermarket in Staffordshire.
Representatives from Morrisons are meeting representatives from the UK’s four main farming unions – the National Farmers’ Union, NFU Cymru, NFU Scotland and the Ulster Farmers’ Union, along with lobby group Farmers for Action.
Farm gate price
The supermarket has been a target for protesters who have stripped milk from the shelves before dumping the produce or giving it away for free.
Farmers for Action has asked its members not to target Morrisons further as it has agreed to talks and union leaders are hoping other supermarkets will also join the discussions.
The British not-for-profit dairy organisation AHDB Dairy said the average UK farm gate price – which is the amount paid to farmers – fell to 24.06p per litre in May, a decrease of a quarter over 12 months.
Farmers estimate it costs 30-32p to produce each litre of milk.
The National Farmers’ Union said that currently Waitrose, Marks & Spencer, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and the Co-op have such arrangements where a farmer is paid a price above the cost of production for milk.
Talks are ongoing with Morrisons to get a similar deal, the unions say, while a spokesman for the supermarket said it was not seeking any further reductions in milk prices.
He added: “We recognise that the current issue is being caused by a reduction in global demand for milk that has led to an over-supply in the UK and very difficult conditions for many dairy farmers.
“We will continue our talks with the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), in a constructive manner, to finalise our agreed plan of action.”
Asda, Lidl and Aldi currently do not offer such deals to farmers.
The NFU said its new action plan formulated on Monday included calls for the government to take action “to ensure that contracts to all farmers are longer-term and fairer in apportioning risk and reward”.
It also pushed for rules to be put in place regarding labelling “so that it is clear and obvious which products are imported and which are British”.
The union also said it wanted retailers to “stop devaluing” British food “purely to get customers through the door”, and the EU to underwrite the short-term credit position of vulnerable farmers.
‘Pay market price’
Ash Amirahmadi, who is head of milk and member services at Arla – which is Britain’s biggest milk co-operative of about 3,000 British dairy farmers – told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Dairy is an important part of the UK economy, but it is an even more important part of the rural economy, and we’re asking our retailers to pay a market price.
“We’re also asking them to agree to mechanisms to deal with that extreme volatility [in supply and demand], and probably as important as the other two we’re asking them for long term commitment.
“Farmers need long term commitment to be able to make the investments to deliver a product that consumers want.”
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