Increase Cattle Exposure on Sale Day with AtTheYards
AtTheYards is weaving tradition and technology by creating a win-win-win platform for the stockyard, buyer and rancher – and it’s already gaining traction across the country. This one-stop platform allows stockyards to upload consignment details, pictures, videos and documents with a few clicks of a button. This information is then instantly accessible for viewing whether cattle are in the buyer’s backyard or thousands of miles away.
“It’s designed to help sale barns facilitate the flow of information,” said AtTheYards founder, Jacob Sebade.
Sebade comes from a 6,000-head family feedlot near Emerson, Nebraska, where he has experienced firsthand the inefficiencies of information sharing from the rancher to the stockyard to the cattle buyer.
Stockyards are already using it and finding value. Jim Akers, COO of the Bluegrass Stockyards, has played an integral role in shaping how AtTheYards functions for all parties involved.
Akers said, “Giving us the ability to collect better information from our customers before those cattle come to market is a big piece that really has me excited about AtTheYards.”
Akers noted that giving Bluegrass field representatives access to AtTheYards not only streamlines information collection but also increases exposure of their consignors’ cattle.
“It is very, very important for us to be able to promote [cattle] ahead of time,” explained Akers. “The mindset of a buyer that comes into a sale knowing they're going to be able to put together a potload of a certain thing is very different from an order buyer that's sitting there wondering if they're going to have an opportunity to finish a load or start a load.”
The core goal of AtTheYards is to make everyone’s life 1% easier. Buyers save time and have more information before the sale. Consignors that sell their cattle through a participating barn gain the opportunity to broadcast their cattle, videos, documents, and details to a larger audience. Sale barns are accessing improved workflows while boosting their national brand.
Sebade said, “A key differentiator of AtTheYards is it allows a buyer to create an account, set a preference list and receive notifications when preferred cattle are listed.”
This is where the big win for ranchers comes into play – more of the right eyes on their cattle.
“I think the app just gives us a grand opportunity to put those customers out there on a stage, give them that day in the sunshine they deserve,” shared Akers.
Feedback from order buyers, barns and ranchers has been positive to say the least.
Akers said, “The buyers really like the format of that [AtTheYards]. It's clean. It's neat. It gives more information than we've historically given in the past.”
Order buyers also receive promotion by being listed under the barns they frequent.
“We hope we're going to be driving business to order buyers as well,” said Akers. “And that feed yards in Nebraska or Iowa or wherever might see those cattle online and call one of those order buyers and say, ‘Hey, put me in.’”
AtTheYards isn’t just for marketing feeder cattle. It also serves seedstock producers and the Cattleman’s Corner feature provides easy to analyze graphs about market prices, packer leverage and the market wire.
This new business model is exciting for sectors of the beef industry. It is available today at app.AtTheYards.com or in the App Store and Google Play.
