Easter Ross farmer hails success of new online auction system

The Yourbid online bidding platform has been hailed as a great success for Easter Ross farmers Fearn Farm, which used the system to sell 112 rams and 281 gimmers at their “great from grass” farm sale.

The Scott family’s auction achieved a 100% clearance rate for the rams which averaged £925 (up from £644 in 2019) and £140 for gimmers (£130 in 2019).

Two rams made more than £2,000 and 46 breached the £1,000 mark to make a top price of £2,175. Gimmers sold to a top of £155 for a pen of Aberfield crosses.

Buyers from all over the UK placed their bids over a 10-day period which culminated in two hours of intense bidding before the dust settled. Bids came from as far afield as Cornwall, Wales and Northern Ireland and from Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles.

John Scott said Yourbid had opened up the UK market for the farm’s livestock.

He added: “With a good livestock transport network throughout the country, buyers were able to view sheep on the farm’s YouTube channel safe in the knowledge that they could buy high- performance genetics from the comfort of their own home which would be delivered post-sale.”