Fragility to Resilience: Local meat processing in Australia at a crossroads
Nous Group is an international management consultancy with over 800 people working across Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and the UK. With our broad consulting capability, we can solve your most complex strategic challenges and partner with you through transformational change. Together, Nous and Cubane form one of the most authoritative higher education service businesses operating today – a true leader in higher education with global expertise.
Contact Us
Contact Us
System planning and design
Engagement and co-design
Service redesign and integration
Monitoring and evaluation
Producers
70 university
operational
leaders ACROSS
Businesses viability and revenue at risk
For many, losing local processing access undermines the viability of their entire business. Producers frequently reported stress and anxiety linked to income loss and uncertainty about the future.
Australia
New Zealand
UK
Canada
IRELAND
Get the latest insighst from our University COO Survey report.
Report Authors and Contributors
Australia’s small and medium (SME) livestock producers are losing access to local meat processing — and the consequences extend far beyond individual farms.
Carlos Blanco
principal,
NOUS GROUP
carlos.blanco@nousgroup.com
Fragility to Resilience: Local meat processing in Australia at a crossroads
Get the latest insighst from our University COO Survey report.
Download Summary Report
Download Summary Report
INTRODUCTION
Polina Silakova
Manager,
Nous Group
polina.silakova@nousgroup.com
Charlie Whatmore
Consultant, NOUS GROUP
Adelaide Pilt
CONSULTANT, NOUS GROUP
The system did not arrive at this point by chance. A set of interconnected forces has progressively reduced access to local processing, including service kill. Left unchecked, more producers will be forced to exit local supply chains and processing capacity will continue to concentrate.
THERE IS A PATH FORWARD, IF WE ACT NOW
in annual revenue is at risk among SME cattle producers when survey results are scaled nationally.
Nous Group research into why declining access to local processing for small and medium‑sized livestock producers is becoming a national resilience issue, affecting livelihoods, regional economies and food system diversity
“When I started in this role, I thought it was to just keep the ops running, which was a naïve view of the COO role, perhaps when times are good that’s the focus – spend well on the new things… But when revenue takes a massive one-off hit, when the upswell of negative public sentiment towards universities continues, there is a heightened risk for the COO in terms of personal and legislated responsibilities.”
COO of a UK university
SME producers make up most of Australia’s livestock sector, but their processing needs are diverse. For many, access to local processing is what enables regenerative practices, direct-to-market models and local supply chains to function and grow. That access is becoming increasingly fragile.
Producers are ready to act. Survey responses show strong appetite for new models that improve access to processing and give SMEs greater control, supported by emerging solutions such as local micro-processing, mobile abattoirs and producer aggregation.
Transforming Australia’s meat processing landscape will require urgent, coordinated action. The blueprint is clear: empower producers and enable new models to thrive while stabilising existing local capacity.
Whether you are part of government, industry, investment, philanthropy, production or simply care about where your food comes from, this report sets out the role you can play.
The window for action is narrowing. Now is the time to act.
charlie.whatmore@nousgroup.com
adelaide.pilt@nousgroup.com
In 2025, Nous Group undertook a national program of research to understand the state of abattoir access across Australia, with a focus on the challenges facing small and medium-sized producers. The research draws on a national survey of more than 450 producers and over 20 processors, alongside interviews, focus groups and analysis of existing data across the system.
The research builds on prior work by organisations including the Agroecology and Food Sovereignty Alliance and Sprout Tasmania and was guided by an expert project Working Group and advisor Dr Tammi Jonas. The research was commissioned by the Macdoch Foundation.
Empower producers and enable innovation in small-scale processing
Address regulatory and workforce constraints
Improve processor economics to support SME access
Producers
Businesses viability and revenue at risk
Regional economies
Regional jobs and businesses under pressure
WHAT IS AT STAKE
As access shrinks, impacts ripple across the system well beyond the farm-gate. These impacts reinforce one another, increasing the risk of accelerating system fragility. Click on the tiles for more details.
Service kill access underpins viable regional food systems.
Consumers
Higher costs and less choice
Animal welfare
Higher risks to animal welfare and meat quality
Regional food systems
Less diverse and more fragile regional food systems
Nature
Nature-friendly agriculture slowed
$564–$742 million
An estimated
Regional jobs and businesses under pressure
Reduced access to local processing also slows the spread of regeneratesive agriculture, often led by SME producers, delaying progress towards nature-positive farming systems.
“When I started in this role, I thought it was to just keep the ops running, which was a naïve view of the COO role, perhaps when times are good that’s the focus – spend well on the new things… But when revenue takes a massive one-off hit, when the upswell of negative public sentiment towards universities continues, there is a heightened risk for the COO in terms of personal and legislated responsibilities.”
COO of a UK university
regional economies
One quarter expect partner businesses, including butchers, retailers, food services and transport providers to experience supply or cost pressures.
expect job losses in the livestock production supply chain, weakening regional economies.
14%
Less diverse and more fragile regional food systems
“When I started in this role, I thought it was to just keep the ops running, which was a naïve view of the COO role, perhaps when times are good that’s the focus – spend well on the new things… But when revenue takes a massive one-off hit, when the upswell of negative public sentiment towards universities continues, there is a heightened risk for the COO in terms of personal and legislated responsibilities.”
COO of a UK university
Processing concentration increases exposure to plant closures, labour shortages and transport disruptions.
With fewer local alternatives, producers and communities have limited ability to adapt to shocks.
Regional food systems
Over time, this reduces regional food security and system resilience.
Higher costs and less choice
“When I started in this role, I thought it was to just keep the ops running, which was a naïve view of the COO role, perhaps when times are good that’s the focus – spend well on the new things… But when revenue takes a massive one-off hit, when the upswell of negative public sentiment towards universities continues, there is a heightened risk for the COO in terms of personal and legislated responsibilities.”
COO of a UK university
of producers surveyed expect local access to fresh, diverse meat to decline.
Longer transport distances increase costs across the supply chain, contributing to cost-of-living pressures.
Extended transport times can also reduce meat quality and availability, particularly of grass-fed meat products.
Consumers
46%
Shift consumer demand to embed resilience in local food systems
But this trajectory can be changed. The report identifies four priority areas for action that target pressure points where intervention can restore resilience:
1
2
3
4
Download full report
Download executive summary report
Download the SME livestock producer survey results
Alex Bainton
Manager,
NOUS GROUP
alex.bainton@nousgroup.com
Rex Parsons
Senior Data Scientist,
Nous Group
rex.parsons@nousgroup.com
Reach out to a member of the team to discuss the report findings and the blueprint for action.
The situation is devastating. We cannot run the business as we once did because of the lack of processing.
Improved access to service kills would lead to flexible, high-quality meat production in the local area, lower food miles, less time wasted and lower costs. More time to do what we are good at: farming and improving soils.
Access to service kill processing would unlock a whole new range of products that our customers so desperately want.
The surveyed producers are saying...
full report
executive summary report
PRODUCER SURVEY RESULTS
Download now!
Higher risks to animal welfare and meat quality
“When I started in this role, I thought it was to just keep the ops running, which was a naïve view of the COO role, perhaps when times are good that’s the focus – spend well on the new things… But when revenue takes a massive one-off hit, when the upswell of negative public sentiment towards universities continues, there is a heightened risk for the COO in terms of personal and legislated responsibilities.”
COO of a UK university
Producers surveyed expect negative impacts on animal welfare if access continues to decline.
Longer journeys increase animal stress and increase biosecurity risks.
LONGER JOURNEYS INCREASE ANIMAL STRESS, CREATE NEGATIVE IMPACTS ON MEAT QUALITY AND HEIGHTEN BIOSECURITY RISKS.
Animal welfare
45%
Nature-friendly agriculture slowed
“When I started in this role, I thought it was to just keep the ops running, which was a naïve view of the COO role, perhaps when times are good that’s the focus – spend well on the new things… But when revenue takes a massive one-off hit, when the upswell of negative public sentiment towards universities continues, there is a heightened risk for the COO in terms of personal and legislated responsibilities.”
COO of a UK university
Longer transport routes increase emissions and air pollution.
Delays in finishing animals can lead to overgrazing, degrading land over time.
NATURE
Two-thirds of producers say their current processor does not meet their needs, and nearly one in ten reports having no access at all.
As abattoirs close, consolidate or move away from service kill arrangements, many paddock-to-plate and provenance-based businesses are becoming harder to sustain. Reduced access to local processing is increasing pressure on producer viability and creating cascading consequences for regional jobs, food system diversity, animal welfare and consumer choice.
Download Report
Download Report
Australia’s small and medium (SME) livestock producers are losing access to local meat processing — and the consequences extend far beyond individual farms.
Download Report
Download Report