A FOUR-YEAR dream became reality this week when a pioneering new milk appeared in 60 Sainsbury stores.

White & Wild is the first milk which claims to benefit the dairy farmer and wildlife directly. Every litre sold not only gives the producer a 3p premium but a further 2p goes straight to The Wildlife Trusts for conservation work.

More good news is that a further 100 local producers are already being sought.

The brand was the brainchild of Agri-Trade Direct, a farmers' buying consortium based near West Auckland, in County Durham.

Managing director Ken Whitley was thrilled this week when the brand finally appeared on the shelves of selected Sainsbury stores, including York, Harrogate and Leeds.

It followed a launch in the House of Commons where Michael Meacher, Environment Secretary, gave it his strong support, as did botanist, Dr David Bellamy. The brand is also to be endorsed by cartoonist and conservationist Bill Oddie.

"It has taken four years from conception," said Mr Whitley, "It is fair to say we were ahead of the game then and we still are. White & Wild is a pioneering, wildlife-friendly brand; I am not aware of anything like it in the milk sector."

The Sainsbury stores are stocking the milk, which bears The Wildlife Trusts' logo, for a 12-week trial period. Assuming it is a success, the brand will then go into other Sainsbury stores and, it is hoped, other retailers will also take it on.

Initially, 50 farmers in Ayrshire are supplying the milk, but a further 150 are already signed up in Yorkshire, Cumbria, Cheshire and Lancashire.

Now Mr Whitley is keen to get another 100 signed up, particularly in North Yorkshire as well as Durham and Cleveland. "We are looking for new suppliers close to our existing members so we can put them in clusters of ten or 15 for cost effective pick-up rounds," he said.

The milk is expected to retail at 57p a litre for semi-skimmed and 83p a litre for organic.

The Wildlife Trusts is the UK's biggest charity working exclusively on all aspects of nature conservation. It manages 2,500 nature reserves, covering more than 75,000 hectares, and has 300,000 members - an immediate and huge potential market.

The trusts sees the brand as a strong weapon in its work to reverse the decline in farmland wildlife.

"We hope that many people will be willing to pay slightly more for their milk if they know that part of the cost goes towards helping wildlife," said Dr Simon Lyster, The Wildlife Trusts' director general.

Over the next two years the trusts wants to recruit 1,000 farmers, covering 300,000 acres, to supply 672m litres a year.

Farmers who join the scheme have to draw up a "whole-farm wildlife action plan" with the help of their local Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group.

It involves managing 10pc of their farm for nature conservation schemes, such as planting hedges and trees, leaving field margins, creating new meadows and ponds and caring for rivers and streams.

Mr Whitley is convinced White & Wild has come at just the right time as the Government moves farmers towards environmentally friendly farming.

He also highlighted the recent Curry Report on the future of farming and food, with its vision of a "farming and food sector that is profitable and sustainable, that can and does compete internationally, that is a good steward of the environment and provides healthy food to people in England and around the world."

It also believed there were increasing numbers of consumers who were willing to pay more for food produced to high environmental standards.

The report also said: "For many farmers the environment will be part of their brand, presenting direct marketing opportunities."

Mr Whitley believes farmers now realise the market is changing and the environment is playing a major role. White & Wild could prove attractive to many dairy farmers, helping them fulfil the Government's environmental desires and paying them a premium, which other assurance schemes might not do.

According to Mr Whitley, an average dairy farm with 100 cows could expect to receive extra annual income of £16,000 by producing for White & Wild.

Producers wanting further information or interested in registering can contact Agri-Trade on 01388 835566