But Scottish and Welsh politicians confirmed they may still go it alone and devise their own aid packages.

Finnie: Would look at Scottish-only option

Mr Brown said there was no extra money on the table after a special summit in London, on Wednesday, with his counterparts from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

But he has asked his civil servants to examine whether European Union regulations will allow extra state aid for Britain's hard-pressed farmers.

Strict European rules mean the UK Government is unable to simply hand over money to help struggling farms, the Ministry of Agriculture said.

Independent plans

Welsh Agriculture Secretary Christine Gwyther and Scottish Agriculture Secretary Ross Finnie said they will continue working on the problem with Mr Brown.

But they said they will also continue developing independent plans if UK-wide proposals are not forthcoming.

Christine Gwyther: "Pressing hard" for a UK-wide cull

Officials will draw up a list of options for a further meeting next week and Mr Brown said he hoped a solution could be found which would benefit the whole of the UK.

The president of the NFU in Wales, Huw Richards, said he was disappointed that all that was on offer was more talks.

Scotland's NFU president, Jim Walker, adopted a more optimistic note, saying he believed the European rules were not necessarily a barrier to resolving the issue.

Jim Walker: "Where there is a will there must be a way"

He said: "Rules are there to act in most normal circumstances but we are in a situation of crisis at the moment."

'Historic' meeting

The meeting was billed by the government as an "historic" event as it is the first formal gathering of the four ministers since the devolution of agricultural responsibilities.

Agriculture Minister, Nick Brown: "Agriculture is a devolved matter"

During the meeting, Mr Brown faced calls to finance a UK-wide scheme to cull tens of thousands of surplus ewes and calves which farmers say they cannot sell.

Welsh Agriculture Secretary Christine Gwyther was hoping for £1.75m to pay for a cull of old ewes and extend the calf processing aid scheme for dairy farmers which is due to end this year.

The proposals for culling ewes will be discussed again when the ministers meet in October to see if they could carry the idea forward and present it to the European Commission.

Mrs Gwyther said she was confident a cull ewe scheme could be devised to help Welsh farmers, saying: "We are now working it up with officials."

Nick Brown: Asking for EU help

Mr Brown said the commission's views were one of the "formidable obstacles" that stood in the way of such a scheme's introduction.

He said: "I want the idea fully and properly worked out before we consult the commission.

"We want to do this together but if that means there are different schemes in different parts of Britain then that is exactly what devolved agriculture means."

A scheme for the humane slaughter and disposal of 400,000 ewes, which currently have no market value in the UK, could cost up to £6m.