What is it?
Virtual auctions are services that connect buyers and sellers through the internet to facilitate the direct sale of goods – in this case, livestock. Like traditional auctions, multiple bidders can submit bids on livestock over a set time period.
Virtual auctions may be performed live or may take place over several days. They can occur at an auction mart where the event is live-streamed to a remote audience, or they can involve video footage of livestock on their home farm to reduce the need for livestock to travel to the auction yard.
Challenges
- Live auctions are traditional events with a large social component. For many buyers and sellers, the history and tradition of a conventional auction is important. It is also a place where networking happens and relationships can be built.
- Auctions that occur online using video footage (either live or pre-recorded) make it harder for buyers to judge the quality of the livestock they are bidding on.
How Does it Prevent AMR?
Virtual auctions have the potential to limit the need for cattle to travel to an auction mart, which significantly reduces the risk of them acquiring infections. By eliminating the need to travel, which is a stressor, and limiting their exposure to pathogens through exposure to animals from other farms, the cattle are in a lower risk category and are less likely to need antimicrobials.
Calves that go through an auction mart are typically labelled as high risk and receive antimicrobials upon arrival at the feedlot, especially if their location of origin is uncertain. Direct sales between a cow-calf rancher and a feedlot owner, for instance, creates a direct relationship between the two parties and helps remove uncertainty about the animal’s history and risk of developing an illness.
DLMS online auctions are developed with features like instant bidding and live audio and video streaming. (Canadian Service)
Cattle for sale are listed for a fixed term, and can be searched by breed, class, and location. (American Service)
