Auction Platform Lets Consumers Bid on Meat

Putting the consumer in the driver's seat for purchasing high-quality beef directly from the ranchers who produced it just got easier with a new auction platform called Bid on Beef.

"The buyer gets to decide what they want to purchase. You get to pick the cuts, you get to pick the price, and we are just showing you the best of the best. You tell us what it's worth," explains Bid on Beef founder Chris Earl. "It's really a win-win partnership and relationship that we're building with these great families on the land and these families in the urban areas that we want to serve."

Earl has seen firsthand the need for high-end meat. He had a meat company in Chicago for more than 20 years. But, he knew it could be done in a way to get the beef distributed in a wider area. "Commodity pricing was keeping the price of high-quality meat down from what it probably should have been," he contends. "You just don't find the quality of meat we have in America anywhere else in the world, and we wanted to offer this product to the public and let the buyer decide what it is worth."

Earl's idea that he had been formulating for the past 10 years was finally brought forward in 2024. He built the CK6 Consulting team to plan and market the Bid on Beef platform, which is just one of the services they provide for customers in the cattle business. Wes Tiemann serves as auctioneer for Bid on Beef sales. Aaron Duvall provides insight from his ownership of an Angus ranch, as well as the Texas Beefhouse restaurant in Whitehouse, Texas. Kody Fleeman and Amanda Radke help with marketing, planning and sales.

CONSUMER VIEW

Linda Salant, one of the first consumer buyers of beef from this platform, found the Bid on Beef option to be a great way to purchase exactly what she wants and have it delivered to her front door. "I'm an absolute carnivore, so all I eat is meat and animal byproducts, and I'm part of a larger community of carnivores. We want to buy meat and talk about the sustainability and quality of the meat," says the North Carolina native. "A lot of people are not satisfied with just going to the supermarket and buying the meat they know nothing about, but I like to know more."

Finding a rancher close by isn't always feasible for people in urban areas. Bid on Beef gives them an option to purchase just what they want, know how the meat is raised and have it delivered frozen within two days of the auction. The platform allows consumers to purchase lots of specific cuts of steak, ground beef or roasts.

"Knowing the quality will be the best available really provides the consumer customer with the perfect opportunity to purchase what we want, and we can decide what price we want to pay for it," Salant explains. "Plus, it's fun to be able to bring out my competitive nature and bid on what I want on an auction."

AUCTION PROCESS

Bid on Beef is offered in two ways: a live or online auction. During a live auction, individuals bid on the cuts of meat mirroring how cattlemen would purchase a bull or female at an auction on the ranch. Some of the Bid on Beef auctions are held in conjunction with production sales on the farm.

In the online timed auction, buyers must register with a secure credit card on file and then can decide which lot to try to purchase. When a potential buyer is outbid, they receive notification via text or email so they can rebid on the lot, if desired. As the sale comes to an end, a lot will close after it has no more bids in a two-minute period, and then buyers will be notified if they have won the lot.

"We are trying several different ways of selling the beef. We are even having a meal at a production sale to give people the opportunity to eat the beef that they will be bidding on," Radke points out. "You can see the cattle, and you can stockpile your freezer all at the same time."

Radke has been working with producers to develop the best way to market their program to buyers and consumers. The Bid on Beef experience does have some parameters to provide a great product.

Bid on Beef handles the collection of payments from customers and offers sellers a reduced shipping rate to send purchases across the country. A small commission is collected on each sale, and sellers are paid as soon as the beef has been shipped after the auction. There is no membership fee to be part of the platform, as they are solely focused on results in the sale.

CK6 Consulting has specialized in the Angus seedstock business for 16 years and, in the last five years, has helped its clients exceed $200 million in sales. It works with a group of purebred Angus producers throughout the year. No matter if the Bid on Beef sellers are CK6 clients or not, they provide advice on genetics, feed, beef cut specifications, shipping and packaging, and any other aspect of the direct-to-consumer beef-selling business.

"Our goal is to help make the best become even better. The CK6 model has been really focused on helping families stay on the land and find pathways to profitability," she says. "Through Bid on Beef, we've identified that one of the ways we can increase profitability is by going directly to the consumer and getting closer to the consumer retail dollar."

The group wants to provide a great beef-eating experience for buyers and is committed to selling USDA-inspected Angus and Wagyu beef on the auctions that is American raised, fed, processed, packaged and delivered by the individual cattle-ranching families.

"With our extensive experience and knowledge in the Angus breed, we have identified a niche in the market and the ideal customer we want to serve. Our focus is Angus beef or an F1 cross with Wagyu, primarily so we can hit the premium markets that prime beef can capture," Radke explains.

KEEPING RANCHERS SUCCESSFUL

In one of the first pilot auctions with Texas Beefhouse, 13 lots of 150 pounds of beef were sold in 90 minutes and averaged just under $31 per pound. This is the same amount some of these cattle families would sell in three or four months at farmers' markets.

"The motivation for me is to keep good cattle-ranching families doing what they love, which is raising cattle and raising great beef, but also freeing up their time so they can sell the beef in one or two auctions, and have more time to spend on the ranch and with their families," Earl says. "It's really exciting to see the culmination of their hard work."

Radke adds the success of the beef business is about being connected. The Bid on Beef team is connected to the cattle breeders and now the consumers. Just as she and Salant connected through social media, it's important to find those seeking high-quality beef who may not have it readily available in their area. "I believe it's relationship based. We have to make the connections and continue to tell our story. I truly believe if people got to know America's cattle ranchers, they would appreciate the values, the work ethic and the family and community that we hold dear," she stresses.

Moving forward, Radke says they don't have a specific number of sellers in mind but have recently interviewed more than 130 potential sellers on the platform and have verified 22. "Our intention is to vet the best ranchers in the country, who can provide a consistent, high-quality product delivered straight to our customers. Every ranching family we have interviewed is at a different point in their beef business, so we provide consultations, shipping and packaging advice, and marketing strategies to these folks. And, just like cattle sales, we believe competition will rise the best to the top and make the best even better," she explains.

Interest has been growing since starting sales this summer. For the remainder of 2024, there are two to three Bid on Beef auctions per week.

"Our challenge and passion is reaching our target customer in urban areas, and we spend a great deal of time and effort working to connect with these folks who want to source USA premium beef from a trusted ranching family," Radke stresses.

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-- For more information, visit https://www.bidonbeef.com/…

-- Jennifer Carrico can be reached at jennifer.carrico@dtn.com

-- Follow Jennifer on social platform X @JennCattleGal

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