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Fearn Farm's trailblazing online sheep auction attracts bids from across Britain


By Hector MacKenzie

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John Scott of Fearn Farm was delighted with the success of the sale.
John Scott of Fearn Farm was delighted with the success of the sale.

AN Easter Ross farmer's trailblazing online sheep sale has been voted a "resounding success" with bids coming from Shetland to Cornwall.

Fearn Farm's Great from Grass ram sale saw sheep being sold through the Yourbid online bidding platform.

The farm's John Scott said: "It would be fair to say that despite a couple of technical issues the sale was a resounding success with a 100 per cent clearance rate for 112 rams, 281 gimmers averaging £925 and £140 respectively.

"Forty-six rams breached the £1000 mark with two making over £2000 to a top of £2175 whilst gimmers sold to a top £155 for a pen of Aberfield cross gimmers."

Buyers from all over the UK placed their bids over a ten-day period which culminated in two hours of intense bidding before the dust settled. Buyers found the system easy to use and bid strongly for rams that have proven themselves on commercial farms and crofts.

Mr Scott said: "Repeat buyers were back in force happily sourcing fit active rams that have been bred and reared on a grass and forage diet and which don’t fade when they go to their new homes, often still covering large numbers of ewes at five and six years of age."

Yourbid opened up the UK market for the Scott family with bids coming in from as far afield as Cornwall, Wales and Northern Ireland along with the Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles.

With a good livestock transport network throughout the country buyers were able to view sheep on the farm's YouTube channel "safe in the knowledge that they could buy high performance genetics from the comfort of their own home which would be delivered post-sale".

Next for the team at Fearn and Yourbid will be a cattle sale which is in the early stages of planning. It will include pedigree beef shorthorn and Luing breeding females and bulls.

The Scott family thanked the team at Fearn "who pulled out all the stops to make this happen" and sponsors "who have supported them in a difficult year".

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