Vion is going to buy cattle online

Vion has acquired the software from the Cowlinq online trading platform. Under the name Cowtrade, the meat company will be using this instrument to purchase cows from next summer.

Vion confirms that the meat company is taking over the module from Cowlinq and is currently starting up Cowtrade. Because this new trading platform is still in the development phase, the company does not want to make any further announcements about it.

Silence around Cowlinq 
Cowlinq officially started in May 2015, as an alternative to the traditional cattle trade. The sale, transport, VKI reports and deregistration of cows were arranged for a 2% brokerage fee and €7,50 and €25 transport costs respectively. Customers registered, after which the stable list was loaded. Data on purchases and sales such as studbook data, I&R and the health status of the animals were immediately available. Thanks in part to financial support from the NOM (the Northern Development Company), Cowlinq set up the business professionally and managed to attract more than 1 livestock farmers within 700 year.

However, after a year, the criticism increased. Under pressure from the traditional cattle trade, not all slaughterhouses wanted to purchase cows through Cowlinq. Vion and Waddenvlees (from Henk Visser in Dokkum), who are fully cooperating in the new slaughterhouse in Leeuwarden, to be opened shortly, remained customers.

At the beginning of 2017, Cowlinq was again discredited. This is due to alleged errors in slaughter letters. The kilos on the slaughter letters that Cowlinq issued did not match the kilos on Tonnies's slaughter letters, concerning exactly the same animals. Real clarification has never come on this matter, but things went quiet around the trading platform. The Cowlinq website is no longer up and running either.

less labor 
Online trading in (slaughter) cattle does not appeal to all livestock farmers, but many were positive about the transparent and smooth way of working. It also saves labour, because fewer traders are needed. This is most likely also an important reason for Vion and Waddenvlees to breathe new life into the trading platform. Vion wants to slaughter 2.500 cattle every week in the new slaughterhouse in Leeuwarden and can use the instrument to generate sufficient supply.

Livestock trade reacts laconic
CowTrade acts as an additional tool for Vion; in addition to supply via livestock traders. That is also the assessment of Andries Kingma, cattle trader and chairman of the Leeuwarden cattle market. Kingma does not see this move by Vion as a threat, but as a logical instrument for such a large meat concern.

Kingma also emphasizes that he does not know the strategy of the meat group and does not want to influence it. "My estimation is that Vion (via such an instrument) never gets enough cows weekly, subdivided into the desired meat classes. As a cattle trader, we are not afraid of this initiative. It is not much different than before. Then the cooperative slaughterhouse also had its own people buy some of the cows they need. Now they may soon be doing that via an online platform, but the principle is the same."

However, other sounds also come from the field. This makes it clear that many cattle traders have mixed feelings about Vion's move. Cowlinq was seen as a competitor. The fact that such a large slaughterhouse is now continuing the module itself does not bode well for many livestock traders. They will also know from next summer how online purchases by Vion will work. Vion expects to have the program ready and ready to use by then.

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