How is coronavirus affecting livestock auction marts?

[DevonDuckie]

Hi. Can anybody on the inside let me know how coronavirus is affecting the livestock markets anywhere in the U.K? Are you still able to attend? Are more people going deadweight? Are any marts under threat of closure as a result of social distancing measures? Have any of you been to a market since it all began? If so, is it any different?

 

[J B]

Not sure what you mean by 'on the inside', but I work on the calf section at Market Drayton.
We have a strict 'drop and go' policy to all vendors. Around the ring there are yellow X marks for each buyer. We had a 'normal' number of calves last week (530+) whereas this week there were only 350 - dunno why.
Not sure about the other sections, but market reports available here ...

Market Reports – Market Drayton Livestock Market

Livestock Sales, Standing Straw and Agricultural Machinery Auctions

www.barbers-auctions.co.uk

HTH

 

[DevonDuckie]

Thanks. By 'on the inside' I mean people like you, anybody who works at, or uses livestock markets. Thanks, James I'm guessing that's happening across the board? Is it affecting price? Numbers of buyers attending? Do you think more people are using things like Sellmylivestock? Worrying times...

 

[Holsteinfriesian90]

No dairy cattle or breeding sheep being sold though market I guess more people will sell privately but how your supposed to put a value on them I don’t know.

 

[DevonDuckie]

No dairy cattle or breeding sheep being sold though market I guess more people will sell privately but how your supposed to put a value on them I don’t know.

Is that an LAA decision, market decision or vendor decision?

 

[Werzle]

Thanks. By 'on the inside' I mean people like you, anybody who works at, or uses livestock markets. Thanks, James I'm guessing that's happening across the board? Is it affecting price? Numbers of buyers attending? Do you think more people are using things like Sellmylivestock? Worrying times...

Markets are so much more than a place to do business, many farmers use them for a cooked meal, haircut, chat and to gain an idea of livestock value, so even if they do not buy or sell at market they have an idea of there stocks worth when selling on sites like SLM. Markets must be much like funerals at the moment with limits on people and upsetting for those staying away. Thankfully cattle prices have just about held up but we are lucky covid19 happened now in springtime when demand for stock is high, if it had happened late autumn it could have been a bloodbath of prices.

 

[Werzle]

Not sure what you mean by 'on the inside', but I work on the calf section at Market Drayton.
We have a strict 'drop and go' policy to all vendors. Around the ring there are yellow X marks for each buyer. We had a 'normal' number of calves last week (530+) whereas this week there were only 350 - dunno why.
Not sure about the other sections, but market reports available here ...

Market Reports – Market Drayton Livestock Market

Livestock Sales, Standing Straw and Agricultural Machinery Auctions

www.barbers-auctions.co.uk

HTH

MD is a credit to all of you, friendly, well run and it seems everybody chips in to help out.

 

[puppet]

Asda and Sainsbury allegedly buying containers of Polish beef this week.
Cattle prices are going south as the public can only cook mince at home, not steaks. The expensive cuts are usually in restaurants. I hear of chicken shortages because UK birds are the wrong spec

 

[DevonDuckie]

Markets are so much more than a place to do business, many farmers use them for a cooked meal, haircut, chat and to gain an idea of livestock value, so even if they do not buy or sell at market they have an idea of there stocks worth when selling on sites like SLM. Markets must be much like funerals at the moment with limits on people and upsetting for those staying away. Thankfully cattle prices have just about held up but we are lucky covid19 happened now in springtime when demand for stock is high, if it had happened late autumn it could have been a bloodbath of prices.

Thanks, Werzle. Yes, totally agree. I'm working on a big report for the Prince's Countryside Fund and spoke to 90 people at markets all over the U.K about why markets are important to them. So much social isolation already occurring in farming even before Corona.

 

[DevonDuckie]

Asda and Sainsbury allegedly buying containers of Polish beef this week.
Cattle prices are going south as the public can only cook mince at home, not steaks. The expensive cuts are usually in restaurants. I hear of chicken shortages because UK birds are the wrong spec

Oh no!! That's crazy!

 

[nails]

Asda and Sainsbury allegedly buying containers of Polish beef this week.
Cattle prices are going south as the public can only cook mince at home, not steaks. The expensive cuts are usually in restaurants. I hear of chicken shortages because UK birds are the wrong spec

I really don,t get that at all. Where is the source of your info?

 

[puppet]

I really don,t get that at all. Where is the source of your info?

Sent a screenshot by a fellow NFUS member. Various bodies investigating if true.
Poultry source says catering side has dried up but wrong spec for the supermarkets who probably want smaller cuts for home use I guess.
And all about contracts too.

 

[J B]

Thanks. By 'on the inside' I mean people like you, anybody who works at, or uses livestock markets. Thanks, James I'm guessing that's happening across the board? Is it affecting price? Numbers of buyers attending? Do you think more people are using things like Sellmylivestock? Worrying times...

Price ... People often ask me that but I'm at t'other end of the shed and rarely see anything sold on a normal day. I did ask the auctioneer and he said that good things were holding up well, but the lower end were ...
Buyers? One of the guys who buys a lot of (shall we say) manufacturing calves hasn't been since the change in rules so, I suspect the competition for those is not there.
I know nothing about smellmylivestock sorry - sell live and thrive ... and it helps pay my wages!!!

 

[casper74]

I use livestock markets all the time for buying and selling have made some really good friends in some of the marts I go to (and 1 or 2 enemies) They are so much more than just a place to buy or sell, It is really difficult at the moment not being able to be there when you sell your stock, but this will pass and we will be back again seeing many friends and those 1 or 2 enemies.
The live market prices at the moment are holding up very well I think and I think some on here will agree with that especially when it's all doom and gloom with the deadweight boys now and has been for a while now, the saying sell live and thrive is definitely true at the moment.

 

[Tarw Coch]

Only a couple of weeks in but difficulty I’m finding with this drop and go is judging trade, in two weeks I’ve had one better than expected and one poorer but without being there you can’t judge the mood of the buyers or your own stock against what else is on offer.

It’s all very well setting a reserve but that reserve has got to be realistic against market conditions, much easier standing in the box by the auctioneer.

 

[Hfd Cattle]

Only a couple of weeks in but difficulty I’m finding with this drop and go is judging trade, in two weeks I’ve had one better than expected and one poorer but without being there you can’t judge the mood of the buyers or your own stock against what else is on offer.

It’s all very well setting a reserve but that reserve has got to be realistic against market conditions, much easier standing in the box by the auctioneer.

Absolutely right .. however I think in Hereford on Thurs last the trade was good and the buyers keen . If they weren't it would have been a nightmare. Brother sent some Angus steers in with a reserve I thought was too high but they exceeded it ! ..... one problem in HFd is you have two Auctioneers selling the cattle .....one works hard for the vendor but the other favours the dealer and I am hearing that it was evident last Thurs ......but I hastily add I wasn't there but a few have commented on it .

 

[Tarw Coch]

Absolutely right .. however I think in Hereford on Thurs last the trade was good and the buyers keen . If they weren't it would have been a nightmare. Brother sent some Angus steers in with a reserve I thought was too high but they exceeded it ! ..... one problem in HFd is you have two Auctioneers selling the cattle .....one works hard for the vendor but the other favours the dealer and I am hearing that it was evident last Thurs ......but I hastily add I wasn't there but a few have commented on it .

Trade was down in Oswestry this week on calf’s and stores, I get a bit of an update off a mate who’s buying. Calf’s only had 5 buyers, 2 of which, a dealer and his buddy are always trying to pick on something/ drive trade down. As mate said, if he’d worked with them he could have ha some cheap calf’s but then again it probably wouldn’t be long before no one sent any and as he said, he can be in and out of market in a couple of hours, if the market goes he will have to travel further which will spoil a day. He did mention another market that sells far more calf’s but many of poorer quality, as he said he can waste a lot of time there waiting for the type he wants so it’s in his interests as well as mine that there’s a fair price.

 

[J B]

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=216010829500160

 

[steveR]

Only a couple of weeks in but difficulty I’m finding with this drop and go is judging trade, in two weeks I’ve had one better than expected and one poorer but without being there you can’t judge the mood of the buyers or your own stock against what else is on offer.

It’s all very well setting a reserve but that reserve has got to be realistic against market conditions, much easier standing in the box by the auctioneer.

Totally agree with this. I market our Hex stores once or twice a year, usually over 2 market days. I have no idea what trade is like for our cattle at present which is making it very unappealing to drop a bunch off, and hope...

Markets, and JB knows who I mean, need to put their auctions onto an internet stream so we can see what's is happening!

 

[J B]

Markets, and JB knows who I mean, need to put their auctions onto an internet stream so we can see what's is happening!

Do any Marts offer this service?

Which ring would you like this service in?