More livestock marts in NI have made online bidding facilities available in recent weeks as a safeguard against tighter COVID-19 restrictions this autumn.

While several marts have made online bidding available since April, others held off until on now.

“We wanted to see how things would develop with coronavirus, but with the number of positive cases rising, we felt it was the right time to offer this service to our customers,” said one mart manager.

Along with mandatory wearing of face coverings, more marts are conducting temperature checks for anyone attending sales

With social distancing regulations limiting the numbers that can physically attend sales, online bidding has opened up cattle and sheep sales to a wider remit of buyers.

Along with mandatory wearing of face coverings, more marts are conducting temperature checks for anyone attending sales to curtail the possible spread of COVID-19 among staff and farmers.

Weather

Heavy rain over the past week has resulted in more farmers pushing animals off saturated grazing ground and into the marts.

However, despite more animals offered for sale, good-quality store cattle are still highly sought after and prices remain firm. Plainer stock are a slower trade with fewer customers on hand.

High throughput

Several marts report that throughput has been unseasonably high throughout August, with weekly sale numbers on par with those normally recorded in October.

This has led several mart managers to suggest lower numbers will be coming on to the market this winter.

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