The ICBF has recently launched its Mart Tracker. This new online facility will list all animals for sale in marts across the country each day, allow users to see details on animals for sale and identify potentially suitable lots before a sale even begins.

How it works

How will ICBF know what animals are in a mart? Each animal’s passport (blue card) is scanned at the mart intake on arrival. The mart then sends the tag number to the ICBF to request any available genetic information eg, Euro-stars, CBV, etc.

The ICBF then knows that an animal has been presented for sale at the mart which has sent the tag number, and can list that animal on the Mart Tracker in that particular mart.

What information will be available?

Every animal will have the basic details shown eg, lot number, date of birth, sex and breed. Genetic information will only be available on animals that meet the criteria below:

  • Replacement/terminal/dairy beef index (DBI): Seller’s herd must be signed up to HerdPlus and/or the Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP).
  • Commercial beef value (CBV): Seller’s herd must be signed up to HerdPlus and the animal must be genotyped.

    • How to access the ‘Mart Tracker’

    The new application is available on the ICBF website, icbf.com. You do not need to log into an ICBF/HerdPlus account as it is accessible on the homepage. It can be accessed on a mobile device or on a desktop computer.

    How to operate the Mart Tracker

    Once the user clicks into the Mart Tracker, they will be presented with a number of ‘dropdowns’ where they can enter criteria. These are:

  • Select breed type (dairy, dairy x beef or suckler).
  • Select mart.
  • Select sex.
  • Select age.

    • The ‘Select breed type’ option is the only one which you must select.

    Figure 1: Mart Tracker landing screen. Enter criteria here and click 'search'.

    For example, if you set the breed type to ‘Dairy x Beef’ and click ‘Search’ (Figure 1) you will be presented with a list of marts and the number of dairy x beef animals for sale in each mart (Figure 2).

    Figure 2: Listing of marts with number of animals in each mart that meet your criteria in brackets.

    You can then click into a mart to view the list of animals and their details (Figure 3).

    Figure 3: Listing of animals in a mart that has been selected from the criteria list in Figure 2.

    The list of animals can be sorted and filtered on each of the headings. You can see the extra information by clicking on the animal’s row on the screen or else by clicking on the lot number.

    Columns can be added or removed by clicking on the ‘Columns’ button.

    Advantages of the tracker

    The ICBF Mart Tracker can be a very helpful tool for those purchasing animals in marts. Up to now, buyers went to a mart before a sale and would walk through the penning area to look at the animals available.

    They might then write down lot numbers that looked suitable. They would then either go into the mart office to ask for more information on the lots, or wait until the lots came into the ring to see the information on the mart board.

    With the Mart Tracker, buyers can check to see what animals are for sale in the mart before even leaving home.

    They can check multiple marts and decide to go to the sale that has the most animals of interest.

    They can identify the lot numbers that meet their criteria eg, age, sex, breed etc, and on arrival at the mart, go straight to the pens where those lots are and do a visual inspection.

    Even where animals are being purchased online, the buyer doesn’t have to wait for the animals to come into the ring to access their details.

    This can help those buying animals in marts to identify animals of interest much more easily and to be much more efficient with their time.