FARMERS across Somerset and beyond twice mounted blockades of the Morrisons’ depot at Bridgwater last week for many hours in a row over milk prices.

Demonstrators blockaded the distribution site near the M5 with tractors and vehicles clogging the roads outside.

Lorries then backed up all the way to the A38 and police closed one side of the road, making it difficult for residents of nearby estates to access the main streets.

Farmer James Hole from Wedmore said: “There were 30 or so tractors there and we blockaded the road outside until nearly 2am. It is in protest over Morrisons not agreeing to paying the same price for liquid milk going as a liquid and milk for cheese production.

"It costs the same amount for a farmer to produce milk for cheese as it does for liquid milk. Cheese uses a third of all milk produced.”

He said Morrisons rebuffed the farmers' plan to pay the same for all milk. This has led to an impasse and the latest demonstrations.

Morrisons said in a statement: “We know the dairy farming community faces a tough winter. We announced earlier this week that we are creating a new brand of milk Morrisons Milk for Farmers where 10p per litre goes back to Arla farmers.

“Today, we are also announcing that we will do the same on cheese by creating a Milk for Farmers cheddar cheese priced at a retail premium of 34p a pack above our standard Morrisons cheddar price to deliver the equivalent of 10p a litre back to farmers who supply the milk.

“We are also pleased to announce that we are going to increase our offer to our processors for the liquid milk element of our processed fresh milk to a minimum price of 26 pence a litre from later this month and through the winter.

“This month, we will continue discussions with our cheese processor about other initiatives that will help their dairy farmers.

“We hope that this offer along with the other initiatives we have announced this week will help our suppliers to better support British dairy farmers.”

The website hdairy.ahdb.org.uk lists the prices paid by supermarkets and dairies across the country. Some of the best prices are paid to farmers in contracts with firms such as Dairy Crest, M&S and First Milk Tesco with prices of more than 30p per litre. Morrisons do not appear under their own name on the league table on the site and one dairy expert thinks that may be because they buy “pool milk” – the extra unwanted milk from other dairies and supermarkets which is sold off at lower prices or in a lower dairy group paying around 20p a litre.

Professor Toby Mottram of e-cow in Exeter said the supermarkets tend to favour big farms of several hundred cows that are close to their depots in order to keep transport costs low.

Mr Hole rejected the idea that there is a milk glut leaving milk prices low. He said: “We as a country are producing 81 per cent of milk to be self-sufficient. We have a huge demand but a supply that is below that demand. This is an argument about cheese and the price paid for milk used to make cheese.”