CUSTOMERS of supermarket giant Morrisons have raised £20 million to support farms and the countryside by choosing to pay a little more for products in Morrisons For Farmers range.

The funds have been ploughed back into a range of farm schemes to improve biodiversity and further improve animal welfare, in a period when British farmers have faced financial uncertainty due to Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic.

In October 2015, Morrisons was the first British retailer to launch a dairy product, Milk For Farmers, where part of the purchase price went directly back to farmers. The range now includes Cheese For Farmers, Cream For Farmers and Eggs For Farmers which similarly give customers the opportunity to pay a little more to support farmers directly. Funds from the For Farmers range have helped the farmed and natural environment. Morrisons For Farmers ‘Chuckle Eggs’, costing an extra 1p per egg more, has enabled farmers to invest money in planting woodland and creating insect-friendly wildflower habitats for their free-range chickens to roam around in. To date 169 acres have been planted. This month a similar insect habitat scheme is being rolled out across all Morrisons milk farms.