Farm management technology company Herdwatch has launched a new online trading space for farmers, with some 460,000 animals expected to be traded on it in the next three years.
The commission-free trading platform is known as Buy & Sell by Herdwatch.
Launching its new service this morning (Monday, May 15), Herdwatch said that farm-to-farm movements of animals have been on the rise over the last 10 years, with a 50% increase from one million movements in 2011 to around 1.5 million movements in 2021.
The business said this trend is set to continue as farmers increasingly utilise digital technologies to make their activities more efficient.
Herdwatch predicts that the largest number of farm-to-farm animal movements on its new platform will come from Co. Cork (around 60,000 movements), followed by Co. Tipperary (40,000), Co. Limerick (25,000), and Co. Galway (25,000).
Buy & Sell by Herdwatch will, according to the business, allow farmers to advertise animals using the verified data already provided to Herdwatch on those animals.
Farmers will also be able to add photos and a video to the listing, which can be done for free. The animals are advertised continuously until they are sold. No commission is charged for animals that are successfully sold.
The service is available to all of the over 18,000 farmers who are members of Herdwatch, as well as any farmers who download the Herdwatch app subsequently.
Commenting on the new service, Fabian Peynaud, CEO and co-founder of Herdwatch, said: “The level of farm-to-farm trading is growing all the time and across the country, and we fully expect to see more livestock traded this way using our commission-free platform.
“Trading livestock is an important part of modern farming life and that is why adding this online trading services was a no-brainer. In the short time that it has been live we are already seeing it gain significant traction as farmers look to advertise their animals to our 18,000 members,” Peynaud added.
He said that the new platform was generating “very positive feedback” from buyers and sellers.
“We know that buying and selling livestock can be a time-consuming activity for farmers.
“Ultimately this is about saving farmers time and we hope they will find this latest service a further benefit of Herdwatch,” Peynaud said.