A Scottish co-operative has announced it will link up with online company SellMyLivestock to support those who are not able to attend marts.
ANM Group, based at Thainstone Mart, Inverurie, has teamed up with the platform as part of its response to the Covid-19 outbreak in the UK.
The co-op said its new partnership will help continued trade and ensure farmers' businesses are not impacted by the coronavirus restrictions.
SellMyLivestock is the UK's largest online marketplace for beef and sheep, with almost 50,000 UK farmers registered to trade.
From Friday 27 March, the platform will include the services of an ANM auctioneer and valuer for farmers in Scotland.
It comes as livestock marts recently announced an array of new measures to help battle the spread of the virus.
ANM Group Chief Executive, Grant Rogerson, said: "The launch of the partnership has been in the pipeline for some time but fast-tracking seems the sensible thing to do given the public health advice surrounding coronavirus, particularly for those in at-risk groups.
"Although our marts are trading as normal - responsibly and within government guidelines - being at the live ring is unfortunately not an option for some of our buyers and sellers at this point in time.
"We hope this service coupled with live online bidding directly into the auctions ring will provide additional routes to market for livestock producers across Scotland.”
