Livestock Market Remote Operations & Engagement Platform - Keeping The Meat Supply Food Chain Moving

Duradiamond Software (DDS) project centres around addressing the challenges faced by Livestock Markets, a key stakeholder in the food chain, of facilitating the sale of animals under the current crisis. Livestock sales are transacted through these markets using a "face to face" trading model. This involves vendors and purchasers attending a central location (market) and bidding on animals as they come into a sale ring. Under the current crisis, there is a reluctance for vendors/purchasers to attend the physical Livestock Market locations, even with social distancing measures in place, due to concerns about contracting the Covid-19 virus. Our project focuses on developing a solution which will allow livestock auction markets to facilitate remote sales of animals, reducing the requirement for vendors, purchasers and auction market staff to operate in a face to face environment which places them at possible risk of contracting the Covid-19 virus.

Further to the above, the solution created through the project will facilitate communication between stakeholders in the livestock industry, helping to break down the social isolation that results from the current restrictions.

The platform will in the short term support the operation of a key component of the food chain by facilitating improved remote working and wellbeing by reducing the isolation associated with social distancing during Covid-19 restrictions, however, it will also address longer term challenges within the sector and thus have a greater significance beyond the existing crisis. These include reducing the general isolation associated with farming, a largely lone working profession and also reducing carbon emissions associated with livestock sales, thus contributing to the UK's net zero emissions by 2040 objective.