Online platform FarmGate Auctions is bringing the saleyard to you

This is sponsored content for FarmGate Auctions.

A NSW stock and station agent is the latest disruptor to enter the online livestock auction marketplace.

FarmGate Auctions co-founders, Gunnedah agent Guy Gallen and business partner Matt Murphie, started talking four years ago over a drink as they could see there was room for more than one online auction platform in Australia. Fast forward and their first auction was held in October 2019 and the platform now has more than 1400 registered members, with both agents and buyers downloading the mobile app.

National sales director Jock Gosse said the significant difference between FarmGate Auctions and other platforms was the ability for producers and agents to assess livestock on the property and input data into their iPhone or iPad without having internet in the yards.

"We also bring the saleyard to you. Our sales are paddock to paddock and the auctions are in real-time, designed with the live sale yard experience in mind. We have quicker auctions, so you can bid, buy, walk away and get on with your day," Mr Gosse said.

"Being an easy digital app-based assessment system, it eliminates the paperwork while giving more detailed information to prospective buyers. The agent comes out with their iPhone or iPad and assesses your stock while capturing all the relevant information.

"We assess close to the auction to give a truer record of weight gain or loss. If you are out in the bush and don't have internet service, you are still able to enter and save the information."

Launching offline assessment was a pioneering step for FarmGate Auctions and the industry. It means stock can be assessed and have information recorded remotely in the paddock, with the details then uploaded to the sale catalogue when the seller has access to the internet.

"Once assessed by the agent the stock go back to the paddock and are sold in the comfort of their own surroundings," Mr Gosse said.

FarmGate Auctions' experienced livestock staff check through the information before approving the stock for sale.

Buyers and sellers can then view the descriptions of the stock, photos and videos on the screen and all data relevant to the animals, such as weight, age and vaccinations.

Buyers have much more detailed information about the livestock at their fingertips, and with technology progressing at such a rate the information will only get more accurate.

"They also like the flexibility to bid in the live auction from anywhere using their mobile phone and have been happy with the stock that walked off the truck," Mr Gosse said.

Mr Gosse said most of FarmGate Auctions' sales, so far, had been store, breeding and stud stock between farmers but it's hoped processors and feedlots will also soon be attracted. There is currently development underway to expand the platform's stud sale offering.

"Whether small or large our live online auctions will work extremely well with stud sales, as the vendor will have the option to run the auction sequentially or simultaneously. In the case of the latter, the lots will time down individually so if a buyer is outbid on their first choice it gives them the option to buy something else. Nobody has to miss out," Mr Gosse said.

He said there was always going to be a place for on-site auctions and physical saleyards, although coronavirus restrictions had made it harder for vendors to attend.

"There is a cost-saving, there is no transport to the saleyards, so there are no saleyard fees and there is less stress on the animals. We regard that as a really high selling point for the platform."

Mr Gosse said there had been a spike in interest in selling livestock online, when some physical saleyards temporarily closed because of the coronavirus and sees continued disruption for the foreseeable future.

As part of its commitment to the development of the Australian agriculture industry, FarmGate Auctions recently sponsored the inaugural Lambition Industry Innovation award. Mark Ferguson from neXtgen Agi was announced as the winner, scooping the $1000 cash prize and recognised for improving the Australian sheep industry in a game-changing way.

The award contributes by providing seed funding in the form of a grant, encouraging and supporting the next generation of farmers to promote new ideas and innovation to improve productivity and farm performance while developing the resilience of the sheep industry.

"We are very passionate about the agricultural industry, and we love to be involved in all areas that we can," said Mr Gosse.

This is sponsored content for FarmGate Auctions.