A Saskatchewan company is helping bring live auctions to the world.
Live Global Bid of Moose Jaw, Sask., recently sold its computer software package to Edmonton-based Nilsson Bros. Inc., allowing the livestock company to broadcast its auction sales live on the internet.
Nilsson Bros. will use Live Global Bid’s software to wire 10 of its 17 sales arenas for internet feeds by the end of the year.
Bob Francis of Live Global Bid said he is excited about the deal.
“It may just change the way cattle are sold at auction,” he said.
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“It is the first of its kind …. It’s a lot cheaper than satellite and can reach a lot more people.”
Satellite fees can cost more than $2,000 per hour, but Francis said Live Global Bid’s package costs a fraction of that. As well, it eliminates the need for long distance phone calls.
“The live bid means they can have a 10-hour sale every day with buyers from anywhere in any weather,” Francis said.
“And the buyers can click and bid.”
Buyers will be able to see the sales ring and the animals passing through it while they’re in the office, at home on the ranch, or anywhere high-speed internet access is available.
The auctioneer’s voice is only delayed by 340 milliseconds and video of the animals will arrive at seven frames per second. While that is about one quarter the speed of television and at lower resolutions, it is still fast enough to get a feel for the animals in the ring.
“You won’t be able to tell if an animal has a bad eye or something,” Francis said. “You’d see if one was staggering, though.”
Francis said buyers still need to base their decisions on an auction market’s reputation.
“You need to depend on the auctioneer’s sort on the cattle. You always have. You couldn’t see much more on the satellite.”
The internet service also opens up the price discovery process and makes cattle available to more bidders.
From their computers, bidders can select from several bid increments, which are set in either cents per pound for commercial animals or dollars for purebreds, bred cows and heifers and cow-calf pairs.
Pre-qualified buyers see the animals’ statistics as they enter the ring and can begin bidding at any point, just as though they were at the auction ring.
Bidders at the auction barn can see a large screen version of the live internet site.
“That way they know they are actually bidding against a legitimate bidder,” Francis said.
Nilsson Bros. officials said cattle buyers will potentially be able to attend several sales on the same day without travelling.
Buyers download an internet browser plug-in from the company’s web site at www.liveglobalbid.com that will let them access the sale. All that is needed is a computer that operates fast enough for internet video, an internet connection of 56K or better, and speakers.
Slower speed connections will work, but video delays may cause the feed’s video to be lost or become inaccurate.
