Livestock.ie is among a select group of innovative companies invited by Enterprise Ireland to attend Teagasc’s Beef 2014 Open Day in Grange on Wednesday in the EI Innovation Village.
The concept of Livestock.ie is the use of modern technology to bring the buyer and seller together more efficiently, in a secure environment, using an intelligent search that takes account of the exact criteria demanded by a buyer.
Founder of the business Tim Harty has said: “With the evolution of mobile broadband, many platforms exist to facilitate the buying /selling process of Cattle in general. Some platforms are specific, whilst others are multi-platform, e.g. Done Deal. As an alternative to the livestock marts system, livestock owners use online platforms and trade publications to buy and sell their livestock.
These platforms are not specific to livestock and this causes two problems – number one, a great deal of time is wasted finding livestock that meets the buyer’s exact criteria and secondly, if a deal is eventually done, trust is an issue in the exchange process of money and goods.
Livestock.ie will also facilitate the exchange of money between the parties in a secure, bonded environment. Accoding to Harty: “The result of Livestock.ie will be ‘Taking The Mart Online’.”
He said: “Users of the livestock.ie platform are validated – their herd number will be validated with Department of Agricultural records.
“Specific animal information will be available, such as date of birth, gender and breed. Further information will potentially be available such as estimated weight, actual weight and genomic information, this is based on the current participation of clients within the Department of Agricultural Schemes coordinated by ICBF. Prospective buyers will be informed of animals that match their specific criteria.”
“The process of viewing animals and agreeing a price may still be conducted on the ground, or this can be facilitated by LIS agents if required. Livestock.ie will facilitate the secure transfer of funds between the parties, from which a commission/subscription fee will be earned.”