The Land

Bringing the sale yard to you

FarmGate Auctions co-founder Guy Gallen and producer Bert Hewitt in Gunnedah. Photo: Paul Mathews Photography
FarmGate Auctions co-founder Guy Gallen and producer Bert Hewitt in Gunnedah. Photo: Paul Mathews Photography

This is advertiser content for FarmGate Auctions.

AUSTRALIA'S newest online livestock marketplace has created much-needed competition in the online selling space, and now FarmGate Auctions is in development to add stud sales to its services.

The business, co-founded by Guy Gallen and Matt Murphie, has simplified the online selling process, making it quicker and easier to assess and list stock with a user-friendly mobile app.

It is the ultimate in working from home for producers and livestock as the sales are paddock-to-paddock and the app brings the saleyard to producers with real-time auctions on mobile and desktop.

The first sale was held in October, and since then sales of sheep and cattle have exceeded $2 million.

FarmGate Auctions began with store stock and breeding stock, in both cattle and sheep, but the business is looking to expand into other areas of the industry, in Australia and internationally.

The platform is also suited to stud sales, many of which have been forced to look for alternative avenues to sell their stock this year with many sales having to be online-only events.

"Whether small or large our live online auctions will work extremely well with stud sales, as the vendor will have the option to run the auction sequentially or simultaneously," Mr Gallen said.

"In the case of the latter, the lots will time down individually so if a buyer is outbid on their first choice it gives them the option to buy something else. Nobody has to miss out."

Each of the FarmGate Auctions directors has years of experience, bringing their own skills to the business.

Mr Gallen is a second generation livestock agent in Gunnedah, NSW, who has worked in the industry for 47 years, and Mr Murphie, who grew up on a property near Scone, has been running his own successful business for the past 14 years in Australia and overseas, providing online trading platforms in the financial markets sector.

We have had agents tell us that a lot of their vendors have never sold online before, so were unsure of what to expect. One client made more money selling online with FarmGate Auctions than he did in the saleyards in the same week.

- Guy Gallen, FarmGate Auctions co-founder

FarmGate Auctions makes it easy to sell online, with sellers able to list their sheep and cattle by filling out a digital assessment form on their smartphone, laptop or desktop, which includes the weight, fat score and breeding history, along with high resolution photos and videos.

"Sellers like the easy assessment process, being able to do everything using their mobile phone or ipad, and buyers are excited they can bid, buy, walk away and get on with their day," Mr Gallen said.

"One of our vendors had an outstanding result recently with 100 Rennylea blood Angus steer weaners, seven to eight months, fetching 639 cents a kilogram live on the platform. They said it was great to watch the bids coming through and feel part of the action from their living room."

"We have had agents tell us that a lot of their vendors have never sold online before, so were unsure of what to expect. One client made more money selling online with FarmGate Auctions than he did in the saleyards in the same week.

"Buyers also have a lot more detailed information about the livestock at their fingertips, and technology is progressing at such a rate that the information will only get more accurate.

FarmGate Auctions sales are paddock-to-paddock, bringing the saleyard to producers with real-time auctions on mobile and desktop.
FarmGate Auctions sales are paddock-to-paddock, bringing the saleyard to producers with real-time auctions on mobile and desktop.

"They said have been purchasing cattle and sheep using the FarmGate Auctions mobile app and found it easy to scroll through the catalogue and add lots they were interested in purchasing to their watch list.

"Buyers also liked the flexibility to bid in the live auction from anywhere using their mobile and they have been happy with the stock that walked off the truck."

Launching offline assessment was a pioneering step for the business and the industry, as it means stock can be assessed and have information recorded remotely in the paddock, with the details then uploaded to the sale catalogue when the seller has access to the internet.

"This is a huge advantage as the majority of yards on properties have no internet," Mr Gallen said.

"It also opens us up to users located in very remote areas. We bring the saleyard to you. Photos and videos can be uploaded straight into the app without having to go through third parties such as YouTube and the double handling of paperwork and data entry has been eliminated with our mobile app."

Guy Gallen, co-founder of FarmGate Auctions, says users like the flexibility to bid in the live auction from anywhere using their mobile. Photo: Paul Mathews Photography
Guy Gallen, co-founder of FarmGate Auctions, says users like the flexibility to bid in the live auction from anywhere using their mobile. Photo: Paul Mathews Photography

The business is run by the two directors along with a team of five employees in management, sales, marketing and technology, with the platform supported by a team of 14 developers.

"We have a MyAdmin dashboard where buyers and sellers can centralise and run all their activity on our platform and a tools section with how-to videos guiding new users through all the features," Mr Gallen said.

"We're speaking to our users every day, listening to feedback so we can help support their needs with our technology solutions. It's an exciting time to be part of the agtech industry."

This is advertiser content for FarmGate Auctions.