Read some of the reviews from a range of auctions held on bidr.co.nz – an innovative rural trading channel developed by PGG Wrightson.

Panorama Polled Hereford Dispersal Sale

A dispersal sale for Feilding-based Panorama Polled Herefords was held on 14 May. Comprising 51 lots, it is the largest scale auction to date for bidr.

PGG Wrightson Livestock National Genetics Manager Callum Stewart said, “Alan Cook of Panorama Polled Herefords is an early adopter of technology so when we suggested running his sale on bidr, he was onboard immediately.

“The sale attracted a lot of interest and we had farmers bidding from Northland to Southland. Three lots sold for over $4000 a head, with 26 of the 51 lots sold on auction day. We ended up with a clearance of over 90 percent in the days following the sale due to the profile provided by the bidr auction.

“For something so new, we are very happy with the outcome. We saw this as a really solid sale, showcasing the potential that bidr offers,” Callum said.

Alan Cook added, “I am very happy with the sale result. We surpassed expectations in terms of both prices and the clearance rate. While we weren’t anticipating a full clearance, having the option to adjust the reserve during the sale allowed us to meet the market on the day.”

Otago Store Lamb Sale

PGG Wrightson Livestock Agents Gerard Shea and Keith Willson worked with their Central, North and East Otago customers to put together a combined Otago store lamb feature auction involving three vendors.

As a bidr accredited assessor, PGW North Otago Area Livestock Manager Mark Yeates travelled to the vendors farms to evaluate their lambs first-hand. bidr has put in place strict protocols and accreditation processes for listing livestock which provides all parties with the confidence to trade. Mark compiled the pre-sales assessment for the auction.

Mark Yeates said, “Our team worked together on the assessment. Our vendor customers agreed with our assessment and went ahead with the auction on that basis.”

The three vendors (Will and Laura Heckler of Stoneburn in East Otago, Philip and Geoff Nicholson of Hampden in North Otago, and Donny MacLean of Omakau in Central Otago), were all interested to offer some of their end of season store lambs for sale via the new channel. They achieved full clearance of the 915 lambs on offer on 27 March.

The Heckler and Nicholson families have held on-farm lamb sales for a number of years and will continue to do so, but bidr provides another option for livestock trading in the future.
Mark Yeates concluded, “The sale process went smoothly and each lot, with a duration of 60 seconds was completed surprisingly quickly. All parties involved were pleased with the outcome. It worked well for them.”

Ohakune Store Bull Sale

bidr held an auction for 98 R1 Friesian and Friesian X Hereford bulls on 27 May.

PGG Wrightson Livestock Agent Simon Luoni, who marketed the stock said the bulls being offered were from a closed herd from Atihau Whanganui Incorporated, a highly respected farming operation near Ohakune.

“Offering high quality stock is one thing, but this is a new channel so everyone involved was interested to see the outcome of the sale. Of the 98 bulls on offer 80 were sold. We were pleased with this result and we will offer the remaining 18 bulls on bidr soon, once we have weighed them again to ensure the assessment is up to date.

“I’ve been an agent for over 40 years and it’s exciting to see bidr go live as it gives our customers another option when considering their sales channels. It’s the way of the future,” Simon said.

Atihau Whanganui Incorporated’s Dean Francois who manages Ohotu and Tohunga Stations said, “Our closest saleyard is Feilding which is a couple of hours on the truck for our stock. Saving our bulls that trip was good and having no transport cost to sale was a bonus for us. The sale went pretty well, and we will use bidr again.”

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