Online livestock auctions a hit

THE recent introduction of livestock auctions on the Internet by Agra Cooperative is taking the farming community by storm.

Several animals have already been sold online. The biggest deal was the electronic auction of Clawa, a top Brahman bull who fetched N$48 600. Clawa, bred by the well-known farming couple Mecki and Brigitte Schneider of Okabra Brahmans, was bought by Hendrik Blaauw and his son Piet. A week before buying Clawa on the Internet, Piet Blaauw bought a son of Clawa, two-year-old Roas at a northern auction. There the Blauuws saw the top quality of Clawa’s offspring and the good prices they fetched. Two of Clawa’s other sons were sold for a total of N$126 000 at this auction. Building a Brahman stud, the Blauuws found Clawa’s genetic material ideal. At the northern auction they heard about Agra e-Auctions. In the comfort of his office, Piet explored the Agra e-Auctions site and took part in the final bidding of the auction, which caused the auction to last half an hour longer than scheduled, with two prospective buyers bidding. ‘I am very excited to have a bull like Clawa joining our stud. I encourage serious breeders to make use of Agra’s e-Auctions and stud auctions to obtain the best genetic material in Namibia,’ Blaauw said. For Mecki Schneider, offering Clawa via on Agra’s e-Auctions was a first trial run. ‘I am convinced that this option provides a wonderful opportunity in breeding circles to make selected genetic material available to potential buyers, also outside the borders of Namibia. It made a big difference not to having to drive the animal to an auction over a long distance, thus saving time and cost and stress for the bull,’ Schneider said.