Cumbrian farmers will see little benefit from a milk scheme to allow shoppers to back struggling dairy producers – as the cash will be shared with their European counterparts.

There had been fears that only a small amount of the so-called ethical milk price would find its way into the pockets of Cumbria’s hard-hit dairy producers. The Cumberland News can reveal the Morrisons price pledge on milk and cheese will not be solely helping British farmers, but will instead be divided among the 13,500 European farmers who supply dairy giant Arla.

On Monday the supermarket chain launched its new milk brand, offering people the chance to pay an extra 23p on top of the retail price in support of farmers.

David Hall, the new National Farmers Union north west regional director, told The Cumberland News : “This is extremely frustrating for our members.

“The NFU asked that English money goes to English farmers, but Arla said they would be sticking to their co-operative principles.

“They argued there was only one co-operative, and that any monies should be redistributed among all their members. They said there was only one pot.

“Arla did say they were in talks with retailers on the continent, and were hopeful that similar schemes could be run over there, with everyone benefiting,” he added.

Locally, the Milk for Farmers brand and special cheese brand went down well with shoppers with many in Carlisle saying they would happily pay the extra to support local farmers.

Ian Mandle, National Farmers Union Carlisle group secretary, described the county as the “poor relation” in respect of the flurry of supermarket milk price promises made in recent months.

“At the moment the county is getting absolutely nil. It is in a bubble. We have very few producers on dedicated supply contracts, so they are missing out," said Mr Mandle. 

He added: "There seems to be the need to have discussions as to why the extra monies from the Morrisons new milk brand is going to be going to everybody across the board who supply Arla. 

"This is not right as every producer is being paid a different amount, with some getting 29ppl, while others only 20ppl. We need to know how much of this money is going to come back into this county." 

Mr Mandle also criticised Morrisons for putting the new milk brand alongside its cheaper alternative. 

"This is immoral and crazy," he continued. "It's going to be very hard for families on a budget to ignore the lower-priced carton. 

"This county is taking all the volatility hitting the milk price." 

Morrisons corporate services director Martyn Jones said it recognised that the current market for liquid milk was 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," he said. "It is not linked to the price we pay our milk suppliers. 

"We also want to clarify that our current three-year contract with Arla, who supply the majority of our milk, uses a cost model that automatically adjusts the price that we pay for milk, based on a combination of the independently set farmgate price and other commodities such as diesel and plastics that influence the cost of milk." 

Keith Twentyman, NFU, group secretary, also based at Carlisle, said it was a "good" initiative that would put some money back into the struggling dairy industry, but also posed the question of 'how much and how would it be distributed'. 

"We do have a sprinkling of Arla producers here in Cumbria," Mr Twentyman said, "but there aren't many liquid producers, the majority are supplying milk that is going into processing cheese. 

"So potentially any money handed over to Arla could be going to dairy farmers out of the UK." 

A spokesman for Arla confirmed all their European farmer producers would benefit from the milk price promise. 

"This is a welcome step by Morrisons, and one which will benefit all our 13,500 suppliers," he added. 

NFU dairy board chairman Rob Harrison said he welcomed the Morrisons move, and added that retailers have a big role to play in helping customers to support the UK dairy sector. 

Dairy producers in Cumbria have faced a turbulent 12 months with milk prices dropping to they claim well below the cost of production.