A revolutionary new phone app will make life easier for farmers when buying and selling cattle.

Developed by NZ Farmers Livestock (NZFL) the new MyLivestock app is a radical revamp of the original app enabling farmers, for the first time, to buy and arrange transport of stock without leaving the farm.

NZFL General Manager Bill Sweeney said the app will revolutionise the process of buying cattle.

“There’s never been anything like it. Traditionally, attending the saleyards can be an all-day affair with travel and all the paperwork involved in buying and arranging transportation for cattle. The new app doesn’t replace the sale-yards but it gives farmers more options than they’ve ever had – they can go to the sale or simply get on with other things while virtually buying the stock they need.

“Once a farmer has downloaded the app, they have the option to register multiple properties eg home farm, run-off etc. Then, when he or she uses the app to buy stock at one of our sales, they simply nominate the address the cattle are to be delivered to and this automatically triggers an email to their nominated carrier telling them they have purchased cattle, the pen number and which property they are to go to.

“All the steps traditionally associated with buying stock have been streamlined into one simple app freeing farmers from going to the sale, registering as a bidder, standing ringside while the sale proceeds and then signing dockets and/or liasing with their carrier.”

The ability to remotely organise the movement of cattle from one property to another is also simplified by the app.

“Farmers wanting to move stock from, say, the runoff to the home farm can simply enter those details into the app and this will automatically link to their carrier setting that movement in action.”

In another first, the new app contains the farmer’s sale and purchase history with the company.

“We get quite a few requests from farmers wanting copies of invoices or credits from previous sales - now they can access all their records via the app.”

Bill Sweeney said the new MyLivestock app has been designed to make farmers’ lives easier. “It retains all the features of the original app (market reports, documents, news, agents etc) along with the purchase, sale and carrier options in a package which is incredibly easy to us, fast and more responsive than ever before. It’s a sale yard in your pocket and is sure to become an essential tool for all cattle farmers.”

Launched in early September the revamped MyLivestock app can be downloaded, free, from the Apple Store or Google Play.