South Australian dairy farmers can learn from Port Lincoln tuna industry about disaster recovery SA dariy farmers and industry suppliers march through Murray Bridge, to protest low farm-gate milk prices. THE successes of the Port Lincoln tuna industry could become the model to save the South Australian dairy sector from disaster. SA Dairy Farmers' Association chief executive Ken Lyons said the tuna industry was a good example of the potential for producing higher value products. Port Lincoln's tuna industry moved from selling tuna for canning for 20c/kg in the 1980s to $20/kg for the prized Japanese sashimi market. In that time, the farmgate price of milk has barely changed and Mr Lyons said the dairy industry should better market its products to secure a higher price. Industry leaders at the March for Milk event in Murray Bridge yesterday said the problems were so severe in the SA dairy sector because it was one of the highest-cost producers in the world. This was partly due to high costs and labour charges. Mr Lyons' comments came as Woolworths launched its Farmers Own brand of milk at the Sydney Royal Easter Show, buying milk directly from farmers. Mr Lyons said a series of meetings by dairy farmers across SA and Victoria in recent weeks reflected the distress the industry was suffering and the need for solutions to its unprofitability. "One of the problems is we encouraged New Zealand farmers to come to SA about 10 years ago, but people are now realising that Victoria and Tasmania are better places to invest because their costs are lower," he said. Mr Lyons spoke at an industry forum in Murray Bridge, where an estimated 300-400 dairy farmers and industry suppliers from across the state highlighted their plight. Event organiser Andrew Koch said the March for Milk event showed the dairy industry was in crisis and had reached a point where many farmers could no longer sustain their businesses and had no choice but to close the door and walk away. SA Dairy Farmers' Association president David Basham said two key proposals to come out of the meeting were the need for collective bargaining and a call for a national dairy summit. This would include senior government figures and industry leaders to sort out the industry's problems. "The industry needs to sort itself out and become a united force again," he said.