viodvidNEW online sheep seller FarmGate Auctions is waiving listing fees for its livestock customers following the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

The online platform said it is waiving the fees to support producers and the continuation of livestock trade in the coming months.

FarmGate Auctions achieved a 69 percent clearance rate in its first sale held last Friday, marketing 1197 Merino sheep sold clients in Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia for a gross of $192,692.

Organisers said the sale was completed seamlessly despite the record number of registered bidders and first-time users.

Livestock agent Scott Bremner from the Australian Wool Network said he was extremely pleased with the result.

“With more and more people using online, it was important that the platform was robust enough to handle high volume, which it did perfectly and without a single glitch.”

One of the vendors said the prices exceeded their expectations.

“It was great to see a record number of bidders come online, which obviously pushed the price beyond our reserve so we were very happy with that,” the vendor said.

Sold listings included:

•     455 Merino ewe lambs 9-10 months, $189, from Orroroo SA
•     198 unjoined Merino ewes 4 years-old, $145, from Myanbah Uralla NSW
•     261 Merino ewe hoggets 16-18 months, $147, from Myanbah Uralla NSW
•     283 Merino wether hogget Lambs 18-20 months, $140, from Myanbah Uralla NSW