The ICBF ‘Mart Tracker’ is a new online tool which will allow farmers to see what animals are for sale in marts each day. Every animal put forward for sale at a mart has its passport (blue card) scanned at the intake. The animal’s details are then transferred to ICBF to check if there are genetic index details available e.g. Euro-Star details, CBV, etc. Once the passport is scanned, ICBF knows that the animal is for sale in the mart that has sent in the tag number.
What information will be available on the ‘Mart Tracker’?
The basic information such as lot number, number of animals in the lot, date of birth, sex and breed will be available for all animals. Genetic information will only be available on animals that meet the criteria below:
- Replacement/Terminal/Dairy Beef Index (DBI): Sellers herd must be signed up to HerdPlus and/or the Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP).
- Commercial Beef Value (CBV): Sellers herd must be signed up to HerdPlus and the animal must be genotyped.
How can I access the ‘Mart Tracker’?
The new application can be accessed via the ICBF website. You do not need to log into an ICBF/HerdPlus account to access the ‘Mart Tracker’. It can be accessed on a mobile device or on a desktop computer.
How does the ‘Mart Tracker’ work?
Once the user clicks into the ‘Mart Tracker’, they will be presented with a number of dropdowns where they can enter their criteria. These are:
- Select breed type (dairy, dairy x beef or suckler)
- Select mart
- Select sex
- Select age
The ‘Select breed type’ option is the only one which you must select. For example, if you set the breed type to ‘Suckler’ and click ‘Search’ you will be presented with a list of marts and the number of suckler animals for sale in each mart. You can then click into a mart to view the list of animals and their details. The list of animals can be sorted and filtered on each of the headings.
How can the ‘Mart Tracker’ make a difference to farmers buying in marts?
Farmers can access the mart tracker from their phone or computer at home and see how many animals are for sale in their local mart and how many of these meet their criteria. They can see the lot numbers of the animals of interest, which means they can go straight to those pens to look at the animals when they arrive at the mart. Probably more importantly, if there are no animals suitable in the mart on that day, the farmer doesn’t have to spend the day around a mart ring or even watching online when they know there are no animals suitable in the mart.
The ‘Mart Tracker’ has the potential to be a real game changer for the mart trade. It is positive for the marts as well as sellers and buyers. Marts and sellers will have more customers for their animals. Buyers will be able to save a lot of time by knowing exactly what animals are for sale in marts.