It’s the virtual sale yards show . . . live bidding for livestock online.
Bidr went live in July after nearly three years in development and the PGW group is encouraged by early performances, chief executive Stephen Guerin told shareholders at the annual meeting.
That was after saying in the annual report it has the potential to be a game-changer in the livestock trading market.
PGW’s livestock general manager Peter Moore said PGW is not trying to displace the physical sale yards, which will always have their place. In the last five years the number of yards has dropped to 58 from 70 as trading has centralised on major yards such as Stortford Lodge, Feilding, Temuka and Canterbury Park.
“It’s another channel to market and if we can get it to10% to 15% of the market, as AuctionsPlus has got to in Australia, we’ll be happy.”
On-farm sales will also continue to have their place.
“We’ve got clients who will still want to go to the yards or sell in the paddock and that’s still important.”
Farmers buying from home have to be on their toes at the Bidr keyboard. Bidding for each lot is set for just one minute, Bidr general manager Tania Smith says.
“It can get really active at the sharp end, in that last few seconds.”
A bid in the last 20 seconds automatically triggers a 20-second extension.
Smith says it is exciting and a good challenge to be working in a very new part of a very traditional industry.
Over time Bidr is likely to be extended to other agriculture products.
Moore said there are two key parts to Bidr.
The system has full certification of the animals up for sale; they are assessed by agents who are themselves assessed by senior agents and then accredited by government agency AsureQuality.
PGW also wants other livestock companies and their agents involved to make it a multiple-party system.
To help that process Bidr was set up as a separate company, though fully-owned by PGW. Moore is chairman and the other directors are Guerin and PGW chief financial officer Peter Scott but the idea is for it to operate separately. Earnings will not be significant in the short-term.
Hamilton-based Smith has a science background, worked in forestry genetics and went to Bidr from DairyNZ. The business development manager Liam Beattie came from Air New Zealand. As market operator he’s the auctioneer but in the background, not out front as the auctioneer is at the sale yards or an on-farm sale.
Smith said agents from six stock agencies are among the 160 so far accredited to assess livestock for Bidr. The stock are certified as true to class and specification, supported by video and photographs.
The outside agencies pay a fee for the platform as they do at a sale yards.
Bidr, based partly on overseas models, went live in July, a quiet time and has proved itself gradually. At time of writing 5000 head of stock worth $3.8 million had been traded. Most of the trades have been cattle. Smith says Bidr hopes for warmer weather soon to get some lambs ready for the virtual sale yards.
An early success was a sale of deer hinds from Southland to buyers in Rotorua, Moore said.
“Buyers wouldn’t be driving down to Southland from there so it shows how Bidr can widen the buyer pool.”
Canterbury-based agency Hazletts has been on board since the launch and its North Island general manager Tom Mowat described it as a really good, simple-to-use platform as an alternative to the sale yards and a lot of people enjoy it.
“We haven’t got sale yards in the North Island so it’s logical for us.”
The online live auctions will not suit everyone but there are benefits for farmers, including more control over their stock because they don’t leave the farm until sold. Freight is be paid by the buyer so vendors don’t pay to transport stock to the sale yards.
There are animal welfare benefits from direct farm-to-farm transfers, rather than being mixed with other stock at sale yards. The thorough documentation rules are also a positive for farmers.
One issue is the possible loss of community if too much business is taken away from the sale yards but he doesn’t see that as a major risk.
“They’re great meeting places and sale yards will still be there and there are a lot of people who are very busy and just want to do the transaction.”
Mowat agrees Bidr is a potential game-changer though it will take time in an older, historic industry.
Bidr has separate North and South Island sales and specialist sales. The business is separate to PGW’s AgOnline service, which it sees as a classified advertising platform.
