Wicklow farmers to trade 7,000 animals online over the next three years

Launched by leading farm software company Herdwatch, the new commission-free platform will help facilitate Wicklow farmers who wish to advertise their animals online.

With farmers already having provided information about their animals on Herdwatch, the Buy & Sell by Herdwatch platform allows them to advertise those animals along with verified data, including breed, age, movements, weights and more – helping farmers to ensure they receive the best value for their animals.

Wicklow farmers can also add photos and a video to their free listing. The animals are advertised for sale 24/7, 365 days a year until they sell, and no commission is charged for animals sold via the platform.

The new trading platform is part of the suite of services available to over 18,000 farmers who are members of Herdwatch and is also available for free to any farmer who downloads the Herdwatch app.

Farm-to-farm movements of animals have been on the rise across the country over the last 10 years, with a 50 per cent increase in the period between 2011 and 2021 (from one million in 2011 to 1.5 million movements in 2021) and 27,704 farm-to-farm movements involving Wicklow farmers in the most recent full year on record.

That trend is to continue as farmers increasingly utilise digital technologies to make their activities more efficient. Over the next three years, Herdwatch is projecting that upwards of 460,000 animals will be sold via their free online service on a countrywide basis.

Speaking about the new service, Fabien Peyaud, CEO and Co-Founder of Herdwatch said: “The level of farm-to-farm trading is growing all the time and we fully expect to see more livestock in Wicklow traded this way using our commission-free platform.

“At Herdwatch our mission is to help make life easier for farmers. We are committed to using modern technology to simplify farming life and to reduce the workload facing farmers in Wicklow and around the country. That is why we continue to invest in improving our service and in upgrading the app to meet the growing needs of farmers.

“Trading livestock is an important part of modern farming life and that is why we felt adding this online trading service was a no-brainer. In the short time it has been live we are already seeing it gain significant traction as farmers look to advertise their animals to our 18,000+ Herdwatch members. We’ve been getting very positive feedback from buyers and sellers.

“We know the buying and selling of livestock can be a time-consuming activity for farmers, and now farmers can do that without even leaving the Herdwatch app. Ultimately this is about saving farmers time and we hope they will find this latest service a further benefit of Herdwatch.

Buy & Sell listings can be viewed at buyandsell.herdwatch.com or by downloading the Herdwatch app from the App Store.