FARMING MATTERS: Online matchmaking for cattle

Online dating has been a part of life for a long time now. People find long term and short partners via websites and phone apps.
SellMyLivestock Tudder app for matching cattle, launched Valentine's Day 2019SellMyLivestock Tudder app for matching cattle, launched Valentine's Day 2019
SellMyLivestock Tudder app for matching cattle, launched Valentine's Day 2019

And on Valentine’s Day an app with a difference was launched to help farmers find the right match for their breeding livestock.

Called Tudder, farmers can swipe right for yes and left for no after first indicating whether they’re looking for breeding cows for their bulls, or vice versa.

The new app features profiles of animals from 43,000 farms across the UK, representing approximately a third of all UK farms.

Once a match has been made, farmers are redirected to the SellMyLivestock (SML) website where they can browse photos and learn more about the breeding stock listed. If they like what they see the farmers can contact each other to agree a price.

Tudder’s launch is part of a wider push by SML and its parent company Hectare to reinvent farm trading.

Instead of travelling long distances to sell their products at market with no guaranteed buyer, and a lack of transparency when it comes to pricing, Hectare’s digital marketplaces SML and Graindex, as well a its secure payment platform FarmPay, is transforming this process between farmers and their supply chain.

Commenting on the new launch, Jamie McInnes, co founder of SML said: “Finding the right match can be daunting for us humans, let alone if you’re a four legged farm animal.

“Traditionally, playing moo-pid for cows would requite proper grafting: visiting each herd of hopefuls at different farms, or at an auction market, all the while running the risk that the best cow on the market has simply slipped past you.

“And while this is a bit of fun on Valentine’s Day, it highlights how relevant online matchmaking is for farmers looking for breeding livestock.

“Buying breeding cattle is now enabled by a huge amount of genetic data to create the perfect match. This is the equivalent to a human online dating profile, except it is validated in science rather than a self proclaimed GSOH.”

Tudder is available to download via the app store on both Apple and Android phones.