In the world today, technology has grown by leaps and bounds. This is true in all aspects of daily life for almost everyone. Yes, even the cattle producers are learning to use the benefits of this technology.
Internet and webcast auctions have been on the rise with eBay and other sites out there. “The cattle industry is one place where it can really be utilized and very efficient,” explained Brad Farhmeier of Liveauctions.tv.
“There appear to be lots of opportunities on the World Wide Web for marketing and advertising cattle and each producer needs to determine what they are comfortable with and what works best for them and their customers,” he said.
Russ Couch from CattleRange.com agreed. “With the increase of technology and access to that, producers can use the Internet to market cattle and do it with more confidence,” he stated.
Superior Livestock Auction has been selling cattle since 1987 and more than ever they are utilizing the latest technology to help farmers and ranchers get the best prices for their cattle.
Travis Kimbrough from Peace Valley, Mo., is a sales representative from Superior Livestock.
“Through the weekly auctions producers have the opportunity to truly market their cattle and have the true price discovery,” Travis explained. “We have a large buyer base and they can view the auction from anywhere they have Internet connection.”
They can sit back in their office or in the airport or coffee shop, as long as they have Internet access. “Auctions are weekly and always on the internet. Every other Friday, the sale is also on RFD-TV. With a phone call or click of the mouse, buyers from all over the Midwest (and even country) can bid and buy with confidence. Some of them submit proxy bids through the Internet if they are going to be unable to view the ‘live’ auction,” he explained.
“Auction catalogs and videos are available on the website so people have the opportunity to view the cattle before the day of the auction,” he added. “We provide all the information we obtain from the producer and make it available to the buyers, so they will know what they are getting.”
“The idea of using the computer to sell was originally my partner’s idea,” explained Russ. “He has the knowledge of technology and creates and keeps our website up-to-date.”
Russ says they have been going strong now for about 5 years. “Over that time, we’ve gained a lot of momentum,” he added. “Through our website we offer a variety of services from a cattle representative, to consulting about cattle for sale all the way to just being the conduit for communication.”
One of the differences in CattleRange.com is that it’s not a live auction. “This is not a timed sale,” he said. “For a novice buyer who wants more time to evaluate and get opinions, he can do that. The only concern he has is about someone else buying the cattle before him, no being outbid in a 10-30 second window.”
Ethics are very important to Russ. “CattleRange is run on the honor system. Commissions are as low as $4/head and the average cost to sell a replacement female is $10. We rely on the good cattlemen out there to be honest and pay the commission, but only if the cattle are sold through the website. If they have someone else who contacts them and ultimately buys the animals, they don’t owe us anything,” Russ said.
Brad started working with some purebred cattle sales to provide clerking services through computer programming. “We actually realized we could offer webcasts of sales with an internet connection and we did our first one in 2004. It was the Charolais National Sale and at that time people could just watch,” he explained.
This is when the opportunities starting to really expand. “We realized if we could allow people to view these events, we should be taking bids online as well. We added that piece to our services and now do about 300 auctions per year,” he reasoned.
Liveauctions.tv brings their own cameras and equipment to the sale for the webcast. “All we need is an Internet connection on the auction block.”
Brad said they have even ventured in to viewing on mobile devices. “If you have an Android phone you can watch sales and bid right on your phone through our mobile site. You don’t even have to be at your computer or with your laptop computer anymore,” he added. “You can watch the sale from your truck in your field if you have the connection.”
So even though this way of marketing might not be like your daddy or granddaddy used to do it, it is a healthy way to use technology to your advantage. Don’t count out technology – it does seem to be everywhere, even the cattleman’s world.
