There’s a new app on the market that allows farmers to upload photos of livestock and buy, sell and manage the status of listings in real-time.
Launched just over a month ago, The Stock Barn is a membership-only club that is hoping to change the landscape for livestock buyers and sellers in the U.S. The app is an easily-operated virtual marketplace where members can upload photos of livestock and manage, buy and sell livestock listings. Through membership with The Stock Barn, farmers gain access to a trusted network within the app.
Dan Nieland, founder of The Stock Barn, says there has always been a strong need for farmers to have the ability to more easily exchange livestock.
“Had this been in place a year ago, I would have used it myself,” said Nieland.
Pitched as a connection app and a “membership-based farming resource” to help producers buy and sell livestock in a more effective way, The Stock Barn is now free to download on Google Play and the App Store. The app is currently available for free until the end of the year, allowing users to try it out. After that, members will need to pay a subscription fee $24.99 a month to benefit from its main uses.
The app also has a built in trusted network feature, which allows users to create a system of buyers and sellers they feel are dependable and can exclusively communicate transactions. Eventually, Nieland says he plans to allow users to rate buyers and sellers on the app.
Currently, The Stock Barn only allows the exchange of cattle, but Nieland says the app will eventually include pigs, goats and sheep as well.
“We started with just one livestock, cattle, so we could get it right. If we’re going to make mistakes, let’s do it a small scale opposed to a large one,” said Neiland. “Beyond that, I’d like to see it grow to more livestock transactions.”