The Covid-19 crisis is boosting a new dimension in New Zealand farming – the online, virtual stockyard sale.
So says Tania Smith, General Manager of bidr, the PGG Wrightson-backed real-time auction platform enthusiastically adopted by many agents and farmers during the lockdown and the period of social distancing.
Virtual stock sales are well-established in other countries. Smith says one of the largest livestock brokers in the US is exclusively online, South America also runs successful versions and, closer to home, Australia sells 10-15 per cent of all livestock at online auctions.
Progress in New Zealand has been slower though bidr was only developed by PGG Wrightson Livestock at the Ruakura Research Centre in Hamilton and launched last year: "We are a long way away from doing 10-15 per cent, like Australia", says Smith.
However the coronavirus and the ensuing lockdown has turned an option into a necessity for many farmers and Smith says the coronavirus scare may be the stimulus the online auction needs to become an even more common fixture in farming life.
"I think it is a distinct possibility that we could move up to 10 per cent [of all sales]," says Smith. "That's what it was built for – to provide an online, real-time channel to market for farmers and agents.
"We know that the traditional stockyard sale is a real institution in New Zealand and has been for over 100 years. It has history and a culture all of its own – and it's a social gathering too. However, what we are seeing now is farmers migrating to the online sale – and discovering what it can do for them."
Even though bidr was already an open asset, the lockdown has seen competitors like Carrfields Livestock and Redshaw Livestock come on board.
"We now have over 360 agents on our books," says Smith, "and more than double the number of sign-ups."
Two big sales lately have underlined the benefits of the online auction platform – the annual Nokomai Station sale and the Burnett Valley Trust sale.
At Nokomai, in northern Southland near Lake Wakatipu, 8000 wether and ewe lambs had to be sold but the usual on-site mass gathering could not be held. So bidr was used, with PGG Wrightson agent Barry McAlister telling Farmers Weekly: "Holding a bidr auction rather than an on-farm auction proved to be a much simpler process.
"There is a lot of organisation and staffing required for an on-farm auction and some people have to travel great distances to attend." Over 250 people watched the bidr auction with 77 registered as buyers, 33 of whom were agents and the rest independents. He said 30 per cent were new buyers and "the vendors were chuffed with the results" – a 100 per cent clearance of the stock.
Another South Island vendor, the Burnett Valley Trust saw a quality line-up of Angus cattle (both in-calf females and bulls plus weaner calves in a second sale) met by competitive bidding from 144 registered buyers, with 224 people watching the sales.
Again, 100 per cent clearance was achieved with reserves well exceeded.
Smith says the advantages of online auctions include geography and the condition of the animals: "Having that national reach and footprint is really valuable. It means a farmer from Te Puke can participate in an auction in Invercargill whereas that same farmer would never travel down there to attend physically.
"The other big advantage is that the animals can be transported farm to farm. That means less travel for the stock and improved biosecurity and animal welfare."
Here's how bidr works: Accredited assessors visit farms to gather information on the stock, produce videos and photos to feature on the online auction – and they have to adhere to strict protocols to do so. Stock agents who have not been able to complete assessor training because of Covid-19 restrictions have been permitted to list livestock and to take responsibility of the auction lot on behalf of their vendor.
Farmer buyers can appoint a stock agent to bid of their behalf if they can't attend the online auctions, usually held late afternoon or evening.