AFTER 53 years of selling at most of SA's major saleyards, the colourful career of tenacious Nutrien Ag Solutions auctioneer Don Cullen has come to an end, after he called sale-o for the final time at Jamestown last week.
Closing the gate on his long career was harder than expected but Don said it was the "perfect" time to do so.
"I have been preparing for retirement for a few years because honestly, I was not ready," he said.
It was in 1968 that Elders Mildura in Vic gave Don his first opportunity to shine as an auctioneer and helped to mark the beginning of his long-held passion for livestock selling among the dust and crowds at Millicent, Naracoorte, Mount Gambier, Kingston, Penola, Strathalbyn, Murray Bridge and Jamestown.
"Each Monday, Mildura held a small pig, sheep and cattle market for the local butchers and that week, the usual agent did not turn up. The manager Peter Brooks said 'Don, you are up, so have a crack' and I did," he said.
Don is without a doubt one of the most recognisable faces at the Jamestown saleyards and he has called it home since 2004, after accepting a role with Nutrien Ag, formally Landmark.
"At the time, I had my own business - Don Cullen Livestock - but Landmark made me an offer that I couldn't refuse," he said.
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But Don's path to his final post at Jamestown was not without its twists and turns, nor its challenges.
His first agent position was at Elders Mount Gambier in 1967 after his family moved to the area after living in the NT.
"My father was with the bank and we moved around a fair bit. While I was in the NT, at about 12 years old, I used to help an agent with sheep work and cattle drafting," Don said.
But after Don was "rained in" on an NT station and missed Mothers Day, he was sent to boarding school at Prince Alfred College in Adelaide.
In the years between 1967 and 2004, Don also worked with Elders and Nutrien Ag at Wentworth, NSW, Karoonda, Crystal Brook, Millicent and 18 years at Strathalbyn.
Don saw the lowest of the lows and ultimate highs of SA's livestock industry.
"In the '90s we were selling an entire pen of 500 sheep at Peterborough for $15-$20. At that time, producers were basically getting paid to shoot sheep," he said.
"But there have been many highs, about 10 years ago ewes made $200 and we have been reaching those prices again, there have been numerous peaks."
Don will miss the competitiveness of the industry and said he owed his career's longevity to many predecessors.
"I modelled myself on the agents I looked up to throughout the years - many taught me that if clients have trust in you, they will follow you wherever you go," he said.
Don said since the influx of new technologies, such as AuctionsPlus online sales, handing over his post to a younger agent was crucial, so he began a retirement plan in 2016 with Shannon Jaeschke as his understudy.
"He has grown in confidence and come leaps and bounds," he said.
Although the future for Don is yet to be "set in stone", he has moved to Clare and hopes to spend more time in his caravan at Port Hughes riding a jet-ski.
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