Robert Fraser

A NEW player has emerged in online livestock auctions, with a New South Wales producer hoping to run auctions concurrently with saleyards and targetting itself to processors.

Online livestock auction platforms have been coming forward in the past year to compete with the most established player AuctionsPlus – which has seen some significant growth over the past decade.

Some former AuctionsPlus managers launched a new platform called “On The Box” late last year, while FarmGate Auctions revised and re-launched its platform earlier in the year.

A new form of online auctions launching this month called Fivestock will be using the FarmGate Auctions platform to conduct sales concurrently with saleyards. The website was launched by Robert Fraser, who is a sheep and cattle producer on the Southern Tablelands of NSW.

“I just wanted producers to be able to pass in their livestock, open the gate, say no to the sale if they want and it doesn’t cost them anything,” Mr Fraser said.

“We saw the market dropping 30c week-on-week last year and producers didn’t have the option of passing in their livestock at the saleyards because it was too expensive to take them back on farm.”

Mr Fraser originally launched the platform as Abblamb last year, but said he received enquiries about doing the same venture with cattle.

Fivestock is planning on holding auctions on the same days as local saleyards, making producers yard up mobs and weigh them, with the same curfew as the local yard.

“If you have the local sales it doesn’t upset any of the processors because trucks can move around locally like they normally do,” Mr Fraser said.

“There are a lot of benefits to processors as well because producers can put their old kill sheets on the platform. It encourages people to have a good product and hit the mark of what the processors want, because it is there online for everyone to see.

“By cutting out one part of the process, you also have animal welfare benefits.”

The listings will be done by a third-party assessor, similar to AuctionsPlus.

“Agents are an important part of the platform and this is just another tool for them to use when marketing their clients’ products,” Mr Fraser said.

Sustainability credentials added to lots

One of the ways Fivestock is trying to engage with supermarkets and processors is to add sustainability credentials to livestock consignments, such as the carbon balance and biodiversity work.

“That information will be able to travel with your livestock and processors will be able to use that data to market the product,” he said.

“It is still early days with the sustainability side of the platform, we need processors to come on board and we are working on that.”

The work is being done through former Meat & Livestock Australia managing director and FarmGate chair Richard Norton.