Trouble is that within the small scale pig keeping world there are a lot of different situations. There are the hobby keepers who rear a few for themselves and to whom the cost doesn't really matter. There are people who rear a few to sell but again don't pay too much attention to the costs. There are people who do it on a more businesslike footing but also have another income so don't worry if they don't make a profit. There are serious pedigree breeders who breed for showing but have to offload their "meat pigs". There are also people who are trying to run a small business and to whom costs and expenses are very important as they need to keep a roof over their heads. I would imagine that these are the people who get pissed off when someone down the road is selling pork for half what it really costs to produce.
I think this is spot-on and, while not advocating a cartel, it would be good if smallholders across the board helped to support each other.
We couldn't live off the profits we make from our smallholding (and we don't live particularly high) - our main aim is to produce food that we want to eat, of high quality and known provenance. If there is a surplus, then we sell it but we sell it at a realistic price - that recognises the costs involved and also the care that goes into the product.
Of course, everyone is free to make their own decisions, but if you consider yourself to part of a wider community, then the needs of that community should also be considered.
