The plan includes calls for labels to indicate British products and long-term contracts for farmers.
Some farmers are experiencing a "crisis" after being paid less for their milk than the cost of production, the UK National Farmers' Union has said.
Farmers in the UK are protesting at prices supermarkets pay for their milk. Photo: Wikicommons
Protests have included removing large quantities of milk from shops and blockading distribution centres.
Supermarket chain Morrisons will meet farming industry leaders on Tuesday to discuss the price row.
Supermarket chain Morrisons will meet farming industry leaders to discuss the price row. Photo: Wikicommons
The NFU said the new action plan included calls for:
- UK farming ministers to meet urgently and for government to ensure farmers' contracts are longer term and more fair
- Government to "urgently" ensure labelling rules mean British products are "clear and obvious"
- Retailers to "stop devaluing" British food "purely to get customers through the door"
- The EU to underwrite the short-term credit position of vulnerable farmers
- The public to ask retailers what they are doing to ensure farmers receive a fair price
David Handley, from Farmers for Action, said the plan would be "driven home within days" and a letter sent to retailers.
"Our members... need one thing at the moment, and that is money. Because if we don't get money going into the winter, this industry is going to be in a very, very dire situation indeed."
He added "peaceful protest has worked" and would continue until a solution was found.
NFU president Meurig Raymond said: "Obviously the industry is in crisis... I've been farming for 45 years and this is the worst I've known."
NFU President Meurig Raymond Photo: National Farmers Union
On Sunday, two cows were taken down the aisles of a supermarket in Staffordshire as part of a protest by about 70 farmers.
Protesters have also been clearing supermarkets' shelves of milk in the so-called "milk trolley challenge".
Arla, Britain's biggest milk co-operative, previously announced a price cut of 0.8p per litre - taking the standard litre price to 23.01p for its UK members.
Farming unions from across the UK have developed an action plan following an "urgent summit" to discuss milk prices. Photo: Screen grab
British dairy organisation AHDB Dairy said the average UK farm gate price was 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.
Patrick Holden, who is a farmer and founder of the Sustainable Food Trust, appealed to the industry to introduce a new labelling system.
He said: "There is only one way out of this in my opinion and that is if consumers have the chance to identify milk which is produced to a fair price and a fair treatment for the animals on the supermarket shelves."
A spokeswoman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said it maintained a "regular dialogue" with the industry.
Morrisons said it was not seeking any further reductions in milk prices and would continue talks with the NFU.
Aldi said its milk prices had "remained consistently above" the farm gate price and Lidl said it worked closely with farm assurance schemes which champion British farming.
Arla said the co-operative was "acutely aware" of the difficulties farmers were facing.
- BBC
