Opinion: As technology replaces the traditional farm auction, there is a sense of loss

Small town farm auctions used to bring the
community together. (Farm Progress photo)

As in-person farm auctions disappear to faceless online bidding, one author reflects on the changing times and wonders how much is lost when technology replaces tradition.

"I fear farm auctions are an element of rural life that’s quickly becoming extinct as auctions embrace the digital age," Betty Haynes writes in an opinion piece for Farm Progress. "Live auctions may not be gone, but in my neck of the woods, they’re getting fewer and farther between. Today, there’s no geographical limit to the reach of an auction, inviting bidders from across the country. But at what cost?"

Farm auctions are uniquely rural and are considered a community event akin to a "Carhartt Convention," Haynes shares. "They’re an element engrained into our culture where neighbors can gather and reconnect — whether it’s to celebrate or to mourn." Gordon Watkins of Petersburg, Ill., has been an associate of Sanert’s Auction Service in Greenview, Ill. for nearly 20 years. He says online auction platforms hurt rural communities." He told Haynes: "We used to bring 400 people to Greenview who would spend money at the grocery store, restaurant and tavern while they were there. One weekend, the Oakford Methodist Church made $1,000 in food sales — that’s big money for our little church. It’s something we’ve lost that we’ll never get back.”

The digital age dangles connection but, on many levels, fails to create the sense of community in-person events have delivered for years. "Like our volunteer organizations and small-town grocers and rural veterinarians, the loss of live farm auctions seems to be the next nail in the rural coffin, from an increasingly 'connected' digital world that lacks true connection," Haynes adds. "The kind of connection where you stand alongside your neighbor and fight back tears as they watch their livelihood sell to the highest bidder. The kind of connection from knowing your legacy will carry on as you pass the torch to a family who will love the land as you once did."