In-person versus online bidding: Effects on female beef cattle prices

Objective: The objective of this analysis was to deter-mine whether an online bidding format affects the price of female beef cattle along with several factors such age, months bred, and her sire's EPD. Materials and Methods: This analysis uses annual sales data from 2017 to 2022 from a registered Angus cow and heifer sale in Crossville, Tennessee, that occurs in No-vember at the University of Tennessee Plateau Research and Education Center. A hedonic pricing model was used to determine the value of these factors on sale price.Results and Discussion: The results indicate heifer lots were sold for less than cows lots. The sale price of bred females increases until they are approximately 5 and 6 mo bred, and then the prices start declining. These re-sults were expected based on the literature. The primary finding of this analysis is that having a sale to have online bidding increased the sale price by approximately $379 per head. Implications and Applications: This research ex-tends the literature by considering the effects of an online bidding presence on female sale prices. This article also builds on the growing literature examining how various factors affect female sale prices in the southeastern United States. These results are useful for producers with small-and medium-sized herds who market cattle in their farm; they might consider implementing an online bidding com-ponent when marketing their cattle.