"WHERE is all the money going?" asks one South Australian farmer, speaking out about the price disparity between paddock and the plate.

Brendon Smart told AdelaideNow he was stunned by recent cheaper food reports, asking why consumers are not saving more.

"True savings are not being passed on," he insists, after pocketing nearly 40 per cent less for lambs this year.

News Limited analysis of OECD data shows South Australians are paying 6 per cent less for lamb.

Yet Mr Smart, who heads the Akeringa grazing properties in the South-East, says that SA's farmers were paid an average 38 per cent less for lamb carcasses over the same period.

His lambs went to processors (abattoirs), who sold the meat to supermarkets, where this week lamb ranged from $11kg to $43kg, depending on the cut.

Mr Smart said many farmers would not speak out for fear of reprisals from powerful players in the market. "But it has been a real battle for farmers . . . enough is enough," he said.

West Coast farmer Campbell Lawrie, of SAMM Lamb, agrees, saying the carcass price in his district moved from $6kg a year ago, to about $3.80, "off the back of a couple of good seasons".

"It's a chain reaction, and frustrating," said Mr Lawrie.

Michael Edmonds, Meat & Livestock Australia global markets general manager, says prices have settled after record levels.

"Prices were quite high and we have had good seasons, but there is pressure in the export market and from the New Zealand trade," he said. "Lamb seems to have more ups and downs than other proteins such as beef, and markets take a while to react."

Read more at AdelaideNow