Dave Peine has been selling cattle at the South St. Paul stockyards and directly to local meatpacking companies nearly all his life. But last month, the second-generation livestock producer auctioned off 70 steers and heifers - without having to haul the animals off his Hampton, Minn., land.
Peine, 47, sold his cattle through an online auction run by Central Livestock Association, which owns and runs the South St. Paul stockyards and four other markets in two other states...
...The online service is catching on with more farmers, ranchers and meatpackers, Dressen said. About 500 head of cattle were sold on the association's Web site in 2006, the first year. The number swelled to more than 4,500 in 2007.
The site, www.centrallivestock.com, averages three auctions a week, compared with one just six months ago.
...Cattle sold online go directly from seller to buyer, which not only keeps transportation costs low, Dressen said, but also reduces stress and sickness in the animals...
Click here to read the full article.
Loading ...
