Livestock auctions move online in Australia

The internet has changed numerous routines and practices across the world, whether it is communicating through a multitude of different channels, banking, shopping, watching TV… you name it, the internet has affected a huge amount of consumption and usage patterns, but here’s a new one from Australia, putting a cattle market online.

ABC has the details of a potential internet usage not heard about very often.

Cattle in the north may go from boats to computer screens, with the internet identified as a possible market for cattle too heavy to be sent to Indonesia. Since the Indonesian Government banned stock weighing more than 350 kilos, pastoralists have struggled to sell heavier cattle.

Colin Campbell co-ordinates the internet selling service Auctionsplus for Landmark in Queensland. He looked at a line of in-calf heifers in the Northern Territory over the weekend and this afternoon will look at 2000 steers in Broome.

Mr Campbell says internet selling could help find homes northern stock not suitable for live export.

“There was times when an exporter would go on the place and buy everything in the yard, well now I think it’s a little bit harder,” he says “I think you know there’s avenues for preg-tested cows, there’s avenues to market all different descriptions. There’s just other avenues here now.”

It is interesting to note that the internet hasn’t taken over the physical market, it has instead become a convenient way of getting around the issue of reject cattle. The internet is changing things in a major way, but for social networking, online calling, communities and even cattle markets, face to face and physical contact is almost always be the preference where possible.

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