Steering local marts through the pandemic

Nenagh Livestock Mart, one of the defining landmarks of the town for over six decades, has surmounted the twin challenges of Brexit and the Covid Pandemic by continuing to provide a tremendous service to both sellers and buyers, says the CEO of Central Auctions Co-operative Marts Group, Michael Harty.

Nenagh Mart is part of the larger group Central Auctions, which was formed in 2005 as a result of the merger of Birr, Nenagh and Roscrea Marts. It now has an annual turnover of over €50 million, selling almost 60,000 cattle and 20,000 sheep and employing 30 people on a fulltime and part time basis.

In 2005 Michael moved to newly formed Central Auctions as Operations Manager having previously served as manager of marts in Granard, Athenry and Kilkenny. In 2017 he was appointed CEO of Central Auctions. He is also a well respected property and livestock auctioneer. Michael says: “We recently sold lands in Newport and Shinrone and we carry out numerous livestock and property valuations for inheritances and probate.”

GREAT VISION

Michael pays tribute to the vision of the members of the individual boards of management of the three marts who brought about such massive change and thanks all the farmers who supported the merger, and continue to do so loyally, by selling and buying their livestock in Central Auctions Marts. He says: “It was a huge achievement for the three marts to come together and to start anew with a new board of management with representatives of each of the three marts was a big challenge, but it all worked out extremely well. There was only one goal: we were going to make this new merger work, and since then it has gone from strength to strength.

“The old values that applied when marts were founded over 60 years ago of fair competition, complete transparency and prompt and guaranteed payment still apply today. It must also be remembered that marts were built by farmers for the betterment of all farmers.”

BIG CHANGES

The last 16 months have seen unprecedented change in the way marts conduct their business due to the onset of the Covid-19 Pandemic and the challenges posed by Brexit. Michael says: “Marts had to close during 2020 as a result of the Covid restrictions and during this period farmers had no place to value their livestock, and we saw the cheapest cattle of the year sold. When marts re-opened the value of stock increased dramatically and has continued on an upward trend since. Normally July is the quietest time of the year for marts, but this year, nationally, we have seen huge numbers go through sales rings as a result of the strong prices being achieved in marts. We had over 1400 cattle pass through our rings in one week in July.”

Farmers don’t necessarily have to take Michael’s word on where they can get the best price for their stock. They could instead note the views of the ICSA beef Chairman Edmund Graham who last week made a statement that accords with exactly what the Nenagh based CEO of Central Auctions asserts.

ICSA is encouraging farmers to use the mart system to pursue the best cattle prices while supplies remain tight, Mr Graham asserting that marts are “the best option for many” as cattle remain scarce. “It’s important to know what your animals are worth no matter where you sell them,” he said, adding: “Looking at the trade over the last few weeks, it appears that mart prices are beyond those quoted at factory level.”

Michael Harty obviously wholehearted agrees with these views, but his utter faith in the mart system as one that best servers sellers and buyers is grounded in a keen knowledge that comes from decades steeped in the mart sector.

COVID

As a result of the Covid pandemic, the introduction of online selling of livestock became a reality. Michael says: “In conjuction with the Farmers Journal, Central Auctions became the first mart to use the Martbids App and it is now used by several marts all over the country. It was a huge change to be selling livestock in the ring with no buyers or sellers present and it was a big challenge to convince people that sales could continue almost as efficiently by downloading and using the Martbids app.”

But farmers have adapted very well and Michael notes: “Even the most reluctant farmers who just didn’t have the confidence to bid for stock online have now come around to seeing this as a whole new and efficient way of buying and selling livestock. The pandemic has forced us all into making huge changes, and even though we have a limited numbers of people back in the sales rings there are those who prefer to do their business online.”

AMAZING STAFF

Admittedly, there were plenty of bumps along the journey to such astronomical changes but Michael asserts the challenge was made all the smoother by the staff of Central Auctions who embraced change and worked way and above the call of duty to ensure a smooth transition. Michael says: “The staff showed total loyalty and commitment and put in a lot of extra work over long hours and I want to thank them for all their efforts.”

On a personal level Michael has more reason than most to be happy that we are now at a stage where we will soon, hopefully, get back to normal life as vaccinations continue apace. He contracted Covid during the first wave in March last year and ended up in University Hospital Limerick for a few days. But, luckily, he responded well to treatment and returned to work within two weeks. “I would advise people to take all necessary precautions to avoid contracting Covid as it is not a pleasant experience,” he says, looking forward to the next exciting chapter in the development of the continuing upgrading and modernisation of facilities in the three marts under Central Auctions umbrella.