The Evolution of the Wagyu Auction – with Chris Norris from Elite Livestock Auctions

February 21, 2022

In preparation for Bar H’s second ‘Wagyu Auction’ which includes over 280 females, our team decided to review how we can improve the sort of event people would like to celebrate in 2022, so we can appropriately meet the needs of our consumer in our upcoming event. We decided to have a chat with none other than Chris Norris, who could possibly have attended more cattle auctions than any other person in Australia last year, with his online platform ‘Elite Livestock Auctions’.

Chris created ‘Elite Livestock Auctions’ in 2016. In that year they conducted 53 sales/ auctions and in 2021 they conducted 853 auctions across the country. He said “there has been massive growth in the participation of buying. We are seeing some sales where 80% of the gross is over 1 million dollars to an online audience, bidding remotely. Every auction is different, but that is just a snapshot of where the industry is at the moment”.

An example of this are the results from the recent Tamworth Nutrien Horse Sale. In reflecting upon the results from this huge event that drew cattleman and horseman from all over the country to the New South Wales town, it’s hard to imagine that for camp drafters and cattle people alike, the previous two years of isolation did not have something to do with the celebration of the current economic climate in the agricultural industry.

At Bar H we are trying to emphasise our Female Wagyu Auction into being an event to celebrate the breed, the season, and the people in the industry.

Chris believes, “last year at your sale we were able to all go there and we had that coming together of people in the community. Sale day is an event and it creates a little bit of hype in the community, and that’s what I want more of in this country.

As much as I love having online sales only and they're wonderful, they don’t celebrate the community. At a live auction you get together, you look at the animal, gather the night before and have a beer with the vendor, after the sale you have a few beers and a BBQ. It’s a wonderful meeting point”.

Relationships are the biggest thing in this industry which is hard to do over a computer screen, and that’s what auction day creates. Chris says, “I am pretty different in that sense; my competitors push push push for online only. But we want to go live”.

In order to be successful as a team, and as independents we have thoughtfully prepared our Female Wagyu Auctions with the vision it will become an opportunity for people to celebrate the breed, the season and the people in the agricultural industry. Its suited to become a sort of networking event that will allow our business, and hopefully other businesses, to raise the bar for each other and ask ourselves the question, what can we do better in the Wagyu and wider agricultural industry?

Bar H continues to have a wonderful relationship with ‘Elite Livestock Auctions’ and we thank them for their continuous support. They have an excellent standard of presentation which we compliment with the assistance of ‘Five Star Creative Promotions’. Chris believes the most dangerous phrase in business is ‘but we have always done it this way’.

Bar H looks forward to the Autumn Auction on Friday the 8th of April and hopes to connect with as many friends, colleagues, and fellow graziers as possible to celebrate our wonderful industry.

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