SA pork producers are hopeful this year will offer a return to profitability, after more than 18 months of depressed prices.
It was standing room only at the SA Pig Industry Day at Tanunda on Friday with more than 150 farmers and industry representatives turning out to hear about industry issues and the 2019 outlook.
Australian Pork Limited marketing general manager Peter Haydon said there were at least 10,000 fewer sows in Australia compared with two years ago, but that figure could be as high as 25,000.
Less production was also being coupled with pork buyers having less stock on hand, which should help prices.
"Anecdotally, most people exited December with low levels of stock, which is very different to the end of 2017," he said.
Mr Haydon said APL had focused on fresh pork in its promotions in recent years, but was switching its attention to smallgoods.
"We're doing a trial in a particular town, which we haven't chosen yet, looking at whether there's something we could say to consumers to convince them to pay 25 per cent more for Australian ham and bacon," he said.
"We need to find people who are willing to pay a premium, so we have some other options to manage volatility in the future."
Pork SA chairman Mark McLean likened the pig industry crisis of the past couple of years to the Bermuda Triangle.
"It was a place you unwittingly entered and may never return from," he said. "It's a bit like being stuck in the mud, you know you need to get out but are not sure how."
While producers are still experiencing profitability issues, especially on the back of high grain prices, Mr McLean believes Pork SA's response to the situation helped clear some stocks and drew attention to the problem.
"When we announced our work with (homeless charity) Catherine House, we received enough pork to support them for more than 12 months," he said.
"Soon, the supply of pork was too much for Catherine House, so we were also able to give to Foodbank.
"We also launched an eat more pork campaign through (media identity) Cosi - a pretty amazing campaign that drew the attention of more than 1.5 million people. I think it really helped to get the message out well."
In December, Pork SA rolled out its first workshop under the accidental counsellor program, which trained agribusiness service providers to act as counsellors. It was announced at the meeting that the state government was providing $12,750 to expand the program. Mr McLean said the organisation recognised that while there were many services provided by the health system, for farmers exposed to hardship, there was not an easy pathway into these services.
"The accidental counsellors can provide frontline assistance to identify those in need," he said.
Clinical counsellor and family therapist Colleen White, who ran the first workshop at Roseworthy, said the next step would be opening up the program to farmers themselves, so they could act as "accidental counsellors" to other producers who may be struggling.
"Farming communities have the most resilient people I've ever met, but when you're faced with a range of different issues, unfortunately it's like a dripping tap. It gets worse over time and takes off a layer of the strength you've grown up with and you can start feeling stressed and anxious," she said.
