First it was cattle and sheep, now goat sales have moved online to reach a larger buying audience where they are fetching up to a $20 premium in some cases.
Skyrocketing prices combined with a strong season in Queensland has seen a flood of NSW producers sell their goats online for restocking rather than going straight over the hooks.
Nick Williamson from Elders Broken Hill said he had noticed more clients from his region opting to sell online in the last year due to a strong buying force in Queensland.
He added there was also huge demand from Queensland where there was cluster fencing especially from Longreach.
"Goats are right up their with the price of sheep," Mr Williamson said.
He said recent online sales from Broken Hill producers saw nannies fetching up to $140 a head, with up to a $20 premium.
"While ever it's raining in Queensland prices will remain strong," he said.
Mr Williamson said goats had changed the landscape in far western NSW with the animals a saving grace for many graziers in the drought.
"Our game is certainly not just sheep and cattle anymore," Mr Williamson said.
"It's a developing job for us."
Sarah Packer, a livestock agent and auctioneer from TopX Roma, posted on Facebook recently "tremendous results" from online sales for one of their clients with weaner bucks (five to nine-months-old) weighing 25 kilograms selling for $135 or 1088.7c/kg dress weight.
"That week our processor locally was offering 880c/kg dress weight," Ms Packer said.
"We saw a $29 a head increase on a similar line of bucks the week prior."
Another sale was a line of boer does that sold online for $290 a head or 2735.9c/kg dressed.
Ms Packer said they had been marketing goats for a few years now but it had only been in the last year that it had "really kicked off with paddock sales or online".
Related reading: Goat prices over the hooks hit record high of $10.30/kg
"Goats are a market with a lot more options right now, whether it's down to purely that cattle and sheep prices have exceeded everyone's expectations with high dollar and they are trying to get a return," Ms Packer said.
"Goats are picking up the slack for return on investment from breeding or trading goats."
She said online marketing was another program for her clients to reach a larger audience, which was a viable option in the current market.
Ms Packer echoed Mr Williamson's sentiments saying fencing in Queensland and a turn around in season had helped people bring up their bottom line and get the best out of the market with goat sales.
"A lot of people in Queensland have been fortunate to be have been under a rain storm and a lot of people's country up there is better suited to goats so they have capitalised on the country and season they have been having," Ms Packer said.
"There is also strong export demand, which helps. It's the most consumed protein in the world so demand will stay strong for a long time to come."
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