THE strong local public support for the milk producers of Farmers for Action will come as a surprise to hardly anybody.

Nor is it especially startling to learn that so many of our readers would be willing to pay more for milk in order to ensure a fair income for farmers.

That is because the vast majority of local people have a well-developed sense of decency - which is unfortunately more than can be said for too many supermarket chain bosses.

In recent years they have ruthlessly driven down the prices paid to producers not just of milk but other foodstuffs. They have done so on the pretext of creating “value” for consumers, but the reality is that the consumers see relatively little of the money gouged from the farmers.

So poor are the returns for many of our dairy producers, who are often forced to sell at a loss, that they are forced to rely on state subsidies for survival.

We have long since reached a situation in which certain supermarket chains, in spite of already being rich beyond the dreams of avarice, are effectively parasitising not just British farmers but also the British taxpayer.

This is a disgraceful situation which cannot be allowed to continue, and the best way of preventing it from continuing is for supermarket customers to demand change. Even if the cost of paying farmers fairly were added to shelf prices instead of being taken from the bulging coffers of the big chains, the result would be a few pounds added to the average family’s basic produce bill.

An even better solution is simply for consumers to seek out fairer shops.