Technology Creates a New Marketplace for Cattle

Sounds of an auctioneer are now being replaced by clicking of keys or a mouse. Technology is making the animals available at the tip of rancher’s fingers through online cattle sales.

A number of web based marketing services are now available, as well as sales by individual producers, particularly seedstock breeders, said John Dhuyvetter, North Dakota State University Extension Service area livestock specialist at the North Central Research Extension Center.

Commercial marketing services, such as CattleSale.com, allow producers to list and sell their cattle and expose sellers to more variety of ranchers. "For the commercial cow-calf producers, being able to list and seek bids on their feeder cattle on promoted Web sites and auctions has two primary benefits: market exposure and price discovery," Dhuyvetter said. "Market exposure allows the producer to put cattle on the net, to show their stock to a large audience of potential buyers. Price discovery gives connections to programs that fit the needs of the producer where they can reach more people and be recognized for value."

At CattleSale.com, cattle seekers can view pictures and descriptions of the cattle listed and bid on them. Payments are made to CattleSale.com and the producers are given a check at the time of transport. Another site, pitchfork.com, allows producers to buy and sell the cattle, as well as exotic animals, clothing, and tack equipment. Both sites facilitate trades prior to delivery as a form of contracting.

Private sales are also being made by individuals via the Internet. "Individual producers have their own sites to promote their business and off-sale offerings and on-line bidding to persons unable to physically attend their sale events," Dhuyvetter noted. Web surfers often can view pictures, information and photos of cattle for sale.

He continued, "Downfalls of the technology relate to the details of getting representative cattle descriptions (knowing weights), having adequate numbers for transportation packaging, and having confidence in the security of transactions (bonding)."

North Dakota has just begun to get its collective feet wet with the new advances in the ranching world. Dhuyvetter said, "Buying inputs or marketing on the Web is fairly new, with the first people selling around one year ago. There is just a small percentage of producers taking advantage of the technology services for selling and buying livestock. Awareness of the programs is growing fast, but there are not too many people taking advantage of them."

###

Source: John Dhuyvetter, 701 857-7682, jdhuyvet@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Writer: Karen Heinzen, 701 231-7881, kheinzen@usa.net
Editor: Tom Jirik, 701 231-9629, tjirik@ndsuext.nodak.edu