New Online Swine Market for Weaner Pigs, Feeder Pigs and Facility Spaces

MASON CITY, Iowa - March 27, 2013 - PRLog -- Value-Added Science & Technologies (VAST) is pleased to announce the launching of an online market for weaner pigs, feeder pigs and facility spaces to help producers better manage pig flow and asset utilization.  ePigflow (http://www.epigflow.com)™ will connect all participants in the swine industry to make it simple, transparent and secure to buy and sell weaner or feeder pigs and rent facilities.

ePigflow (http://www.epigflow.com) was developed by VAST and Ryan Cooney.  Steve Weiss, President of VAST, saw the value in creating a market where the connections between buyers and sellers could easily be made. “Our traditional approach to buying and selling pigs and identifying facilities is inefficient, out-dated and difficult for producers to navigate.  Producers have a limited number of contacts, and so do brokers, and too often there is a lack of transparency that makes it difficult for producers to make informed decisions or fully realize what is available,” Weiss said.  “It’s common for producers to contact me for help in buying or selling pigs or locating space and I wanted to create a system that would make it easy for them and protect their interests in a more transparent marketplace.  Working with Ryan Cooney, who has previous experience designing online markets, we have created an online market and services that will benefit the swine industry.”

ePigflow (http://www.epigflow.com) provides four services to help producers manage their pig flow and maximize asset utilization:

1)      Spot Market Sales

Spot Market Sales allow producers to post and buy weaner and feeder pigs through the ePigflow market, including facilitating all necessary aspects of the buying and selling process.

2)      Long Term Contract Listings

Long Term Contract Listings let producers post groups of pigs they’d like to sell under a long term arrangement.  ePigflow allows users to post important information like genetics, health status, preferred pricing mechanisms and other terms.  Interested parties can contact the sellers directly to get more information and work on a potential agreement.

3)      Facility Space Listings

Facility Space Listings allow users to post available facilities for rent. Users post detailed information about the facility and interested parties can contact them directly for more information and to potentially rent the facilities.

4)      Payment Assurance Service

The Payment Assurance Service facilitates sales between parties by handling the sales transaction, collections and managing the discount sheet settlement process in a streamlined and secure manner.

A unique aspect of ePigflow (http://www.epigflow.com) is the data that’s made available to buyers and sellers from previous transactions. “We can start to show discount and payment history of buyers and sellers and pig performance history.  And, in a transparent market where you know who the buyer and seller are, you can make informed decisions based on that information,” stated Weiss.

A feature of all services is an email notification service that notifies interested users of new listings once per day and notifies buyers of competing offers when they are actively pursuing a transaction. The transparency of the site also displays offers that are being made so users can get a feel for market prices.  ePigflow charges transaction fees to the seller, but only when there is a successful sale; buyers pay no fees.  There is also ePigflow support staff available to communicate and work with  producers.

You can sign-up for a free ePigflow account at www.epigflow.com.  There is no cost for an account and it gives you access to all the listings, price activity and the ability to post new listings.

ePigflow is a simple, transparent and secure online market for weaner pigs, feeder pigs and facility spaces. Using ePigflow can help producers maximize their asset utilization and manage the peaks and valleys of pig flow.