As the country, and the agricultural sector, comes to terms with the Covid-19 outbreak, a number of marts have adopted Government-issued guidelines to enable sales to proceed – albeit under strict restrictions.
While certain mart sales are scheduled to take place under these restrictions, others have decided it is best to close their doors for the short-term in a bid to halt the Covid-19 virus, which is currently spreading rapidly across Ireland, mainland Europe and beyond.
The timing of this unprecedented and sudden event couldn’t be worse for the mart trade – a time when calf sales are operating at full capacity, not to mention the onset of grass growth – generally a time of year when mart entries soar and thousands of cattle change hands in local marts.
However, whether we like it or not, the only way to move livestock over the coming weeks may be through direct farm-to-farm selling and buying.
Therefore, in an effort to help farmers sell and purchase livestock – through this challenging period – Haystack.ie will now offer farmers a free platform to sell their animals to potential buyers across the country.
Haystack.ie – which was launched in 2019 – is a site designed specifically for Irish farmers, to assist in the continually evolving enterprise that is modern farming.
The objective is to provide the best service to users and ensure that items placed for sale are relevant to the Irish farming audience – with the end goal of making the sale and purchasing process as quick, straightforward and hassle-free as possible.
How to sell livestock on Haystack.ie
Haystack.ie is an easy-to-navigate, no nonsense website, that puts sellers in touch with potential buyers at the click of the button.
So, what’s the process?
Firstly, new customers must create an account – free of charge – on the Haystack website; existing users can just login using their email and password. Then, follow the simple steps to placing an advert – it’s as easy as that.
Providing as much information as possible – such as genetic background, price, location, good-quality images etc – improves your chances of making a sale.
If taking photos of livestock with a phone, it is advised to take shots in portrait mode (hold phone sideways); providing numerous sharp photos from different angles is also advised.
The Haystack.ie platform will allow farmers with livestock for sale to place adverts starting with immediate effect until further notice. So, to place your free livestock advertisement, just click here
Play your part
To overcome this pandemic, every person – no matter what age, gender or profession – has an important role to play in limiting the spread of the Covid-19 virus.
Farmers, and indeed all people, are advised to follow the guidelines issued by both the Government and the Health Service Executive (HSE).
