Morrisons has become the latest supermarket to back the Isle of Wight Milk campaign. Picture courtesy of Stephanie Mackrill.
ANOTHER major supermarket has joined the growing number of retailers stocking Isle of Wight milk and more good news is expected soon.
Morrisons has joined Tesco and some Co-op stores and independent shops, to sign up to the I Love Isle of Wight Milk campaign.
It will stock locally produced milk at its Newport and Lake stores from today (Monday).
Louise Hart, secretary of the Isle of Wight Dairy Farmers co-operative, welcomed the news, and revealed Waitrose also plans to stock Isle of Wight milk in the spring.
She said: "We have been working with Morrisons for the past few months so we are really pleased with this result, especially because Lake and Newport are both such busy stores.
"What helped convince the company was the number of people who actually asked for Isle of Wight milk. Support from consumers has really made the difference.
"The Island's dairy industry is dying, but we hope the campaign can reverse that. We have come a long way, but there is still a long way to go."
The campaign aims to reduce the amount of Island milk going to the mainland, currently some 80 per cent, while mainland milk is shipped here.
It has won the support of MP Andrew Turner and farming minister David Heath, who visited the Isle of Wight last month.
Mr Heath praised the campaign as a model for other areas and urged other supermarkets, including the remaining Co-op stores, Sainsbury's and Marks and Spencer, to join the 30 plus retailers that have already signed up.
The group hopes to benefit from a new £5m government fund, established by Defra to help dairy farmers sell their produce collectively.
Reporter: emilyp@iwcpmail.co.uk