Scott Donaldson
Speaking at the British Cattle Breeders Club Conference, Scott Donaldson said: "After a bull has been bought or semen selected from a catalogue, the information stops. Is it not about time that data was available to store cattle buyers so they could make more informed buying decisions?"
He suggested introducing a system into marts which provided buyers with concise visible information on a number of relevant key points which could influence purchases.
He said: "The mart is a fast decision environment where buyers are comparing many cattle quickly under pressure. Anything that can't be absorbed rapidly becomes invisible. So if performance data is buried on catalogue, inconsistent or too technical to translate quickly, it won't influence buyers.
Specialist finishers buy outcomes. They're paid on daily liveweight gain and consistency, days to finish, feed efficiency, spec, reduced health risk, and uniformity of batches.
Mr Donaldson asked what helps a feeder predict those outcomes more reliably when they're buying store cattle.
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Store cattle
" A visual appraisal is not the enemy – it is essential, so it isn't about turning the mark into a spreadsheet, it is about giving buyers a sharper picture. What they can see - plus what the figures predict," he said.
"So we need a communication upgrade, not an ideology shift. Completing the data circle means performance information travels from breeder to sale to feeder and it becomes feedback into future selecting and buying. The circle closes when commercial buyers can see clear cues at the point of sale.
If it can't be understood in around 10 seconds, it won't change the bidding behaviour. Instead of showing every EBV on screen, show what changes the decision. An index band, a growth band, a carcase outcome, relevant health issues and a band based on accuracy.
Many markets already have screens and flow systems. We're not reinventing the sale - upgrading what's visible.
Mr Donadlson suggested sensible pathway forward would be to try a pilot on selected sales and then publish post sale reporting linking bands to the prices achieved. So premium signals become visible.
"Once buyers use it and the sellers, we're off," he said.
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