THOUSANDS of farmers across the country have launched an anti-supermarket strike in protest at low prices paid for produce.

More than 3,500 farmers are expected to withhold milk, vegetables and meat supplies from stores until the weekend.

Farmers for Action chairman David Handley, said the group wanted supermarkets to cut their profit margins and pay more for produce.

He said: "The support all over the country is tremendous and is growing.

"Some commodities could run short by Friday, so we are advising that consumers get their shopping done by the weekend."

However, Sainsbury's, Morrison's, Asda, Somerfield, Tesco and Kwik Save have all said they do not anticipate any shortages.

David Maughan, a farmer at Morton Tinmouth, near Staindrop, County Durham, and vice-chairman of the North-East Livestock board, said that while he sympathised with the aims of Farmers for Action, the situation was not straightforward.

He said: "A lot of farmers sympathise with this. We know we're in an open market but there has to be some profit in the market place for farmers.

"It's difficult though, because if farmers withhold their meat and then put it back into the market place after the weekend, it will become over-populated."

Richard Betton, a hill-farmer and district councillor in Teesdale, said: "I understand their frustrations but supermarkets do sell 80 per cent of farmers' produce, so we're in a difficult position.

"A lot of this has to be laid at the door of the Government, they won't appreciate what farms do in the UK until a lot of them have gone."

A spokesman for the National Farmers Union, which is not supporting the strike, said: "We believe that strike action leading to food being removed from the marketplace will not achieve what farmers actually want - a more sustainable price for their produce."