Times are changing and so are the ways producers market their stock.
Processors and producers are both working outside of the regular selling methods of saleyards and direct contracts.
Where this is heading comes from a couple of conversations I have had over the past two or three weeks.
The first of these occurred at a recent store cattle sale when a producer said a friend of his was in the United States on a touring holiday.
While sitting in a café trying to enjoy an American coffee, this person decided to log into the AuctionsPlus website from his iPad to purchase some suitable cattle to purchase while overseas.
I am sure we are all aware of Auctions Plus as a sale platform, which can be described as a computer-based, online saleyard.
According to Elders, Pakenham manager Peter Rollason, who is also AuctionsPlus manager for the Southern Zone, for the 2014-15 financial year AuctionsPlus sold 2.2 million sheep and lambs, and 280,000 cattle.
While supply of livestock was declining Australia-wide, AuctionsPlus sold 10 per cent more sheep and lambs, and 33pc more cattle.
Over this period there were 48,000 registered users, including the producer buying cattle while in the US – and 30 new registrations each week.
The phenomenon of AuctionsPlus has been increasing year-on-year, but it is not a new system.
For those that may not know, AuctionsPlus is the alter ego of the Computer Aided Livestock Marketing (CALM), which commenced back in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
I remember this well as I was trained to be an A level livestock assessor for sheep and cattle. While the CALM system worked well in some states, it was difficult to gain momentum in the south. AuctionsPlus has now gained the respect of many producers and processors for the level of assessment, and also as a regular supplier of livestock.
Many of the transactions in AuctionsPlus stem from producers in Queensland, New South Wales and Tasmania, where normal competition is lacking or transport to saleyards and abattoirs is lengthy and costly.
Many of the sales of sheep and cattle are from producer to producer, and it adds another viable medium for the selling and buying of sheep and cattle.
However, Peter Rollason pointed out AuctionsPlus had branched out into not only livestock but wool, timber, water licenses, horses, even Kelpie dogs and apiary leases.
Another story I was told, without mentioning any names, was of a producer who had delivered a load of cattle to a processor, and while he was doing this, his wife made a purchase of cattle through AuctionsPlus.
His wife rang him and told him of the purchase, and he was able to pick them up on his way back to their property. This was a win-win situation.
I did mention my time selling livestock on CALM, but I have not been able to get away from the traditional system of selling in saleyards.
While AuctionsPlus has become a successful way of selling livestock, it is very hard to tell a computer how much rain has fallen, how the wife and kids are, and what is happening in the district. A very big part of saleyard selling is the social interaction, which is very good for the heart and soul.