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Online stud sales skyrocket amid restrictions

Online selling platforms are reigning supreme, with record activity amid restrictions as vendors and buyers look online for the stud selling season.

Producers turned to online stud sales this season at record levels. Picture: Chloe Smith
Producers turned to online stud sales this season at record levels. Picture: Chloe Smith

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THE global pandemic has created a major market disruption for the livestock industry, not on prices and exports, but in the way stock are traded.

Government-imposed restrictions have prompted a rapid rise and shift to online.

Digital sales have skyrocketed this year as traditional on-property stud sales and saleyard offerings have been forced to rapidly adapt.

Online selling platform AuctionsPlus representative Michael McManus said the platform had seen its busiest spring selling season, including one day where 25 livestock sales ran online simultaneously.

Between August and mid-October this year Auctions­Plus hosted 294 stud sales including 109 cattle sales and 185 sheep sales – an increase of 160 per cent from the same per­iod last year with sheep sales seeing the largest growth.

Total bids logged on AuctionsPlus increased by 845 per cent from 4253 in 2019 to 40,175 in 2020 and total lots purchased by online buyers increased 588 per cent from 588 to 4048 this year.

Online buyer numbers also increased by 80 per cent with an average of nine bidders per sale, up from five in 2019.

online artwork nov 4 auctionplus graph
online artwork nov 4 auctionplus graph

“Online selling was adopted by many to combat restrictions, giving buyers the opportunity to purchase regardless of their location,” said Mr McManus.

“For the first time ever, we saw some studs go completely online for their sale.”

The StockLive platform, in partnership with Elite Livestock Auctions, saw an “unbelievable increase” in vendors and buyers, StockLive manager Libby Hufton said.

From July to the end of October StockLive transacted $15 million worth of livestock across saleyards and stud sales – up $8.2 million from the same period in 2019 when they transacted $6.8 million.

“In that same period this year we’ve had 35,000 people log on to view the sales with around 8000 buyers,” Ms Hufton said.

“To me that’s an indication of the confidence people now have to bid online in a saleyard and a stud space.”

The Janmac Poll Dorset and White Suffolk stud interfaced with the StockLive platform for the first time this year and secured a record top price for the stud of $11,000 – more than doubling their previous top price of $5000.

And Texas Angus stud also achieved their best top price of $108,000 for a bull sold through StockLive to a Victorian bidder.

Artwork for TWT digital promo

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Original URL: https://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/agribusiness/online-stud-sales-skyrocket-amid-restrictions/news-story/1889e83ff9788cfd186f0029d417baa8