A supermarket chain is to be the first major UK retailer to sell “free range” milk – from cows that have been kept outside for at least six months of the year – after consumers said they wanted to be able to buy tasty milk that gives a better deal to farmers.

Asda will from Wednesday exclusively sell the new milk, which will carry a Pasture Promise logo, indicating that it comes from animals grazed for at least 180 days and nights a year and also offers farmers a fair price. The label could eventually be extended to cheese and other dairy products made from free range milk.

Crippling milk prices have given many farmers little alternative but to milk more cows and push for higher yields in order to stay in business, leading to intense high-volume indoor farming. Up to 20% of dairy cows in the UK are kept indoors all year round.

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More than 4,000 British dairy farmers have gone out of business in the last 10 years, the Free Range Dairy Network said, as the retail price of milk slumped and failed to reflect production costs. Supermarkets, including Asda, were accused of using it as a weapon in a price war with discounters such as Aldi and Lidl, triggering a series of protests around the country by farmers who said milk should not be cheaper than a bottle of water.

Unlike free range eggs, there are currently no laws in place to define free range milk production. Asda has worked with the Free Range Dairy Network – which supports four UK dairy farms – to bring the new product range to their stores. A community interest company set up in 2014, it has been the driving force behind the campaign to promote milk from traditional, pasture-based farms. The Free Range Dairy Network licences the Pasture Promise logo that will appear on the “free range” milk sold in Asda, guaranteeing that the milk they are buying meets its minimum grazing standards.

Images of cows in fields are typically used in supermarkets and on packaging for milk and dairy products, but there is no guarantee that the cows producing them have been grazed.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Asda said it will initially put 70,000 litres of Free Range Dairy Farmer’s Milk on shelves every week in 109 stores. Photograph: Neil Hall/Reuters

Asda said it has identified stores in its chain where there is a high level of interest in premium-priced organic products and will initially put 70,000 litres of Free Range Dairy Farmer’s milk on shelves every week in 109 stores.

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A choice of semi-skimmed and whole free range milk will be available, costing £1.50 for two litres and 90p for 1 litre – more expensive than Asda’s regular milk at 99p and 75p for the same sizes. Organic Yeo Valley milk is £1.87 for two litres and £1.10 for one litre. All the free range milk is pasteurised.

The launch comes after the milk was featured by the celebrity chefs Jamie Oliver and Jimmy Doherty in the latest series of their Channel 4 show, Jamie and Jimmy’s Friday Night Feast.

“We’re over the moon that Free Range Dairy Farmer’s milk will be available across the UK on Asda’s shelves,” said the network’s founder, Neil Darwent. “We hope that with customers being offered an active choice as to the kind of farming system they want to support, we will be able to grow the Free Range Dairy Network and recruit more dairy farmers who’ll be able to benefit from this simple farming method.”

Jenny Cannon, the senior category director for milk at Asda, added: “We want to provide ranges for our customers that offer them great price, quality and choice. We will be monitoring demand for the milk in all stores and will work closely with the Free Range Dairy Network to make sure the milk is available to as many customers as possible.”



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The move is supported by the National Farmers’ Union, which pointed out that the Red Tractor assured scheme – to which most UK dairy farmers belong – is also a measure of high animal health and welfare, environmental and food safety standards. The NFU warned last year that as many as one in five of the UK’s 10,000-plus dairy farms could be forced to close, as a result of falling milk prices and spiralling debt.



The NFU’s dairy board chairman, Michael Oakes, said: “It is positive to see a new brand of milk launched. There have been a number of new brands in recent years and it’s good to see more differentiation and consumer choice in the milk aisles.

“Part of the NFU Dairy Board strategy is promoting the best of British at home and abroad and we would urge any new brands to focus on positive, constructive messaging that promotes dairy. No matter what system farmers choose, it’s about happy, healthy cows which are vital to producing high quality dairy products.”