GROUNDED Live - 2025: Patrick O'Neill - Meat Doesn't Grow in Supermarkets; Local Meat, Local Infrastructure

In this episode of GROUNDED Live, we share another unedited presentation recorded at GROUNDED Festival 2025, on farm in Bridgetown, Western Australia.

Across Australia, one issue comes up again and again for small and medium-sized producers: access to livestock processing. Without local abattoirs and flexible processing options, family farms face real limits on how they manage animals and land — affecting biodiversity outcomes, soil carbon, animal welfare and even bushfire risk.

To explore this challenge from a local perspective, we hear from Patrick O’Neill, a Western Australian farmer and founder of Small Farmers of WA. Patrick runs Dingo Ridge Farm and has been working to address processing bottlenecks by advocating for and developing multi-species livestock processing solutions in the Great Southern region.

In this session, Patrick outlines the practical realities farmers face, why processing access is a landscape issue — not just a business one — and how local, farmer-led solutions can unlock more regenerative, resilient farming systems.

It’s a grounded, solutions-focused talk that highlights how infrastructure shapes what’s possible on farms — and why regional processing matters far beyond the kill floor.

Settle in and enjoy this session with Patrick O’Neill on GROUNDED Live.

GROUNDED Festival is a cross between a food festival, a farming conference and a field day. It combines science and technology with ancient wisdom, provides a respectful place for lively discussion, an audience as interesting as the speakers and an excellent menu of local food, drinks and music, all on a beautiful, regeneratively-managed farm.

GROUNDED is also Australia's only annual, roaming food and farming festival, held in a different farm location every year, so each festival is a unique, unmissable event celebrating local expertise and culture with an inspiring line up of speakers.

In 2026, with the support of the local Upper Barwon and Central Otway Landcare Networks, following successful festivals in Tasmania and Western Australia, GROUNDED FESTIVAL will be held at leading regenerative farm, Yan Yan Gurt West, in the Victorian Otway Ranges, two hours from Melbourne in an area renowned for regenerative agroforestry, tourism, local hospitality and great food and wine.

Tickets are on sale now - head to the GROUNDED website for information on speakers, the location, and to secure your spot today.