It’s tricky financing livestock...or is it?

By Kelsey Miller - DelayPay

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When I arrived at the office today, I thought to myself, welcome to week eight of attempting to get access to a transaction account for DelayPay. 

This might sound funny; after all, I already have several transaction accounts with a Big 4 bank. The fact is the bank in question has a product I want access to – it’s the only reason I have kept at it, week after week, banker after banker and phone call after phone call.

What does this have to do with livestock finance? Well, it occurred to me today that in a world where convenience is an expectation rather than a nice-to-have, the world of finance sometimes feels to be moving backwards rather than forwards.

Livestock finance is a great example of this. I have lost track of the number of conversations I’ve had with Ag business owners about the things that get in the way. From the inability to access support for animals held on lease land, to the endless paperwork involved in acting as “carer of livestock”, it seems to me it's getting harder rather than easier.

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Why is this the case? We see stronger and stronger pricing in both the lamb and beef markets driven by strong demand in a sector that is far less risky than the likes of property development and construction.

I find it interesting that technology has made many financial products more convenient to access, but to my knowledge we have seen very little innovation in the world of livestock finance in recent years.

My frustration at the poor experience I have recently had at the bank is minor in comparison to that felt by a livestock producer, who has watched livestock prices rise while being unable to capitalise on the opportunity.

The good news is that positive price movement and high demand is creating an environment where people are looking to innovate, DelayPay being a good example. Innovation in an area like this often starts small and can take a bit of time to scale, but when the timing is right, as I feel it is now, new options can emerge – and emerge quickly.

So, if you're in the market for re-stocking, take the time to look around – you might find a few options that just didn’t exist the last time you looked!

www.delaypay.com.au