Elders Jamestown agent Jack Coleman has won the Australian Livestock & Property Agents’ SA Young Auctioneers competition for the second year in a row.
The 25-year-old put in a polished performance selling three steers at the Naracoorte Regional Livestock Exchange’s weekly cattle market on Tuesday to win the title.
He was thrilled to gain another chance to represent the state in the national finals at the 2018 Sydney Royal Easter Show.
Mr Coleman said the experience from the previous two years as an entrant in the competition had helped calm his nerves.
"It was a bit of a shock to win but I came back a bit more relaxed this year knowing it was my last time.
“Once you do it in Sydney you realise you can sell anywhere.”
Mr Coleman, who has been with Elders for eight years, said he enjoyed adding up the bids to achieve the best possible price for his clients.
Joining him in Sydney will be runner-up and fellow Mid North agent Conor Lamond.
The 23-year-old agent has been with Elders for two years, including the past year at Burra.
“I’m very excited to get a chance to have a go in Sydney and step it with those fellas,” Mr Lamond said.
“I’ve been doing charity auctions and things like that for 12 months in Burra and every now and then doing the mutton run down at Dublin but now that we’ve come this far we’ll do a bit more,” he said.
It is the third consecutive year Elders staff have filled the winner and runner-up spots.
Judge and Green Triangle Livestock and Real Estate director Chris Manser said the competition was very close among all five entrants.
“It is good to see the young ones coming up and having a go- it is healthy for the industry,” he said.
“There are a lot of older auctioneers who don’t like getting off the rail.”
He said a good auctioneer needed a clear voice, good understanding of the value of livestock and good patter (tempo).
“You have to be able to hold the auction to a degree and allow time for the underbidder to give one more bid but also know when to knock it down,” he said.
The other judges were Landmark stud stock’s Richard Miller and Elders livestock sales manager Damien Webb.
ALPA southern region manager Liz Summerville said the Auctioneers School held the previous day had also been a great success with 14 participants from across the state.
Ms Summerville thanked the local agents and buyers for their strong support and giving the aspiring auctioneers a real-life selling environment.