The Livestock Auctioneers’ Association (LAA) has announced a change to the current system of providing livestock market sales prices to industry, in a move that will provide enhanced benefits and access to the most up-to-date market and price trends.

Launching from the 1 January 2024, the move from the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) website to the new independent livestock market sales data platform, hosted by the LAA, will provide consumers with even greater access to information and regularly updated prices, helping industry to benchmark against the latest market trends.

Access to all of the vital price information used by industry to make informed decisions of when to buy and sell, will move across to the new platform, while users can expect to benefit from even more frequent price updates and refined market insights.

“We are grateful to AHDB for their assistance during the transition period, while we move to our new platform. Their continued invaluable and successful work of collating, processing and sharing market data on our behalf has been appreciated by ourselves and the industry,” says Chris Dodds, LAA executive secretary.

Will Jackson, divisional director for engagement and strategy (beef and lamb sector lead) at AHDB adds: “We are working with LAA on a transition to their new commercial system and expect it to provide the industry with efficient access to livestock market sales prices.

“AHDB will continue to process and publish other industry data currently available on our website to levy payers, as well as insights into the agricultural sector through our regular publications, analysis prices and outlooks.”

Providing instant price updates and market trends, users can stay informed of upcoming changes and market updates, enabling them to respond accordingly, while the platform can also help inform industry research and analysis.

Mr Dodds continues: “The new platform enables us to bring even better and enhanced services to users, helping them to monitor performance against the most up-to-date market information and livestock market prices.

“Not only will this help reduce risks and avoid pitfalls, but ultimately it can help boost returns and maximise profits, based on instant trade updates and market trends,” he adds.

Access to livestock market price trends across the marts of England and Wales not only helps businesses in making informed decisions, but can also help identify new opportunities as users gain a better understanding of consumer and buyer behaviours.

“We see this as the next stage of development of what has been a robust and highly valuable service, providing even greater access to information and trends that will determine future decision making,” says Mr Dodds.

“We believe the enhancement of this vital tool will also further support livestock sector growth, through performance monitoring and market analysis.”