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Catherina Cunnane
Catherina Cunnanehttps://www.thatsfarming.com/
Catherina Cunnane hails from a sixth-generation drystock and specialised pedigree suckler enterprise in Co. Mayo. She currently holds the positions of editor and general manager at That's Farming, having joined the firm during its start-up phase in 2015.
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Beef farmer running new online business from his kitchen table

FineStock.ie, a livestock competition website, is the brainchild of an innovative county Armagh beef farmer.

The website, which went live last week, allows entrants to be in with the chance of winning prizes by paying a small entry fee which is a fraction of their value.

The founder of the website, who farms pedigree Simmentals, told That’s Farming that a life-long passion for superior livestock ignited his business idea.

“There has been a huge rise in these competition websites, but the majority specialise in cars, jet skis, toolsets, and spa weekends, for example. I noticed that hardly anyone was raffling high-end quality pedigree cattle.”

‘You want what you cannot have’

“A few months ago, I overheard a lifelong friend asking his wife what she would like for her birthday.”

“After being told several times ‘Ah, surprise me’, she finally blurted out ‘look, a good present is something that I would never buy for myself,’ and that was my lightbulb moment.”

“Whilst driving home that night, I realised that she was right and the logical progression of this assumption is that a good prize is something that you would be unlikely to buy for yourself.”

“It’s like the old adage, ‘you want what you can’t have’. It was at that point that I realised that if I to go down the competition website route, the key to success would be to have highly attainable prizes.”

All in a name

The beef farmer commissioned the development of a website, which is now live, along with Android and iOS apps which will be launched shortly.

“The next problem I faced was early one Tuesday morning when I received an email from the website developer asking me if I had a domain registered yet.”

“I realised that I did not have a name for the business yet, but, a few hours and about 25 cups of tea later, with the floor covered with scrupled up bits of A4 pages, I came up with the name Fine Stock.”

“I feel it perfectly sums up what type of competition website this is. Simply put, just fine stock.”

Fleckvieh heifers and meal silo

After what seemed like endless months of changing layouts and colour schemes, the beef farmer was handed the reins of the finished website last week.

“Then the thought struck me, this is actually real now. The task ahead now seemed more daunting than ever. So, I got into the jeep and headed away to look for livestock.”

Six pedigree Fleckvieh heifers imported from Germany with “phenomenal milk records behind them” seemed like the perfect fit as the enterprise’s first competition prize.

“One of the reasons for this choice is the breed’s dual-purpose qualities. In Germany and Austria, so many dairy herds are solely comprised of Fleckviehs, not a black and white animal to be seen.”

“They are a great animal for a dairy herd, big and strong, great on their feet, high butterfat, high protein, high milk solids and they produce a brilliant quality beef-type calf.”

Current competitions 

FineStock is currently hosting two competitions:

  • 6 pedigree German Fleckvieh heifers [See video] – Click here
  • A V-MAC 8-tonne meal silo- Click here

How to enter
  • Select your prize – Browse through competitions and select the ones you are interested in;
  • Select your entries – Select how many tickets you want to buy for the competition;
  • Answer the question – Answer the level of skill question;
  • Wait for the live draw;
  • Collect your prize if you win.
Livestock enthusiasts 

The new online business is aimed at all livestock enthusiasts, according to the founder.

“I want to give farmers the opportunity to win something that they are unlikely to ever buy themselves for what is pocket money.”

“While we have only just started, as time progresses, and we gain momentum, we plan on hosting competitions more frequently.”

“We also intend to host bigger and better competitions, whilst not forgetting about the smaller lower-value competitions also.”

Future

“Our competitions are open to anyone in the UK or Ireland. All of our livestock can be transferred into any UK or Irish herd number or flock numbers.”

“We have some exciting plans for upcoming competitions, but for now, we will just keep these ideas close to our chest! All we will say is to watch this space.” the website founder concluded.

To enter this competition, click here.

Information

For more information, see its website, Facebook, and Instagram. [FineStock Competitions on both platforms]

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