Things have changed a lot since Peter Baldwin came through the auctioneering ranks.
Subscribe now for unlimited access to all our agricultural news
across the nation
or signup to continue reading
From being thrown in the deep end when he was a youngster, the ALPA chief executive now gets to pass on his knowledge to the next generation of auctioneers at events run for that specific reason.
Mr Baldwin, along with a string of other trainers, were at the Tamworth Regional Livestock Exchange on Thursday, September 6-7, for the ALPA auctioneers school.
It is one of three schools ALPA holds each year in NSW along with one in Wagga Wagga, which was held last week, and one in Sydney.
Mr Baldwin's describes the schools as "invaluable" and a far cry from how things were done prior to the schools being kicked off in the late 1980s.
"We never got the opportunity to have auctioneers school. In fact, all of the trainers here today, we were thrown in the deep and just got up to sell," he said.
"These young fellows get to learn the techniques, they get to understand the mechanics of the auction process.
"We're chunking it up into all the vital elements of the auction which is the knowledge of the values, the diction, the presence, skill, flow, voice preservation, amplification of the voice and at the same time being able to maintain some sort of melody and momentum."
Mr Baldwin was thrilled by the turnout of 29 trainees who came from Forbes right through to Casino.
Matthew Savins, Elders Scone, attended the Tamworth school which was attendance number "four or five" for the young agent.
Mr Savins has been at Elders Scone for just over two years and handles the gavel at their weekly fat cattle and monthly store cattle sales.
The auctioneer not only liked hearing feedback from the trainers but he also found being able to watch back video of himself highly beneficial.
"The first one or two [schools] I went to, there was a lot happening. You get critiqued on a lot which is great," he said.
"I think the best thing they do is actually film you selling then take you inside. It's all well and good them saying 'change this a little bit, cut that out and add this in' - but until you actually listen to yourself selling, then it really sinks in.
"As you go on, you get critiqued less and less and that's a bit of a pat on the back because you're trying and obviously getting somewhere."
With trainers and trainees coming from so many different agencies, networking is a big part of the schools as well.
Mr Savins said contacting other agents is made "a lot easier because you've met them".
Mr Baldwin said the schools were all about nurturing the next generation of auctioneers.
"It's a collegiate effort here. It's all for the good of the industry. It's all for the good of the attendees because they're our future," he said.
"We want to give those tools of trade to these younger people so all-round, we'll have a better industry."
The schools are run for two days where trainees have a crack at their craft in the sheep yards and the cattle yards. There is also video review sessions along with voice workshops run by a speech pathologist.
Ben Jaffrey
Ben is a content curator and journalist for The Land. He has been with ACM since 2015 and first worked at The Area News and then at the Northern Daily Leader. Ben first joined ACM Agri as a digital journalist for all seven agricultural mastheads in 2022 before shifting to The Land full-time in 2023.
Ben is a content curator and journalist for The Land. He has been with ACM since 2015 and first worked at The Area News and then at the Northern Daily Leader. Ben first joined ACM Agri as a digital journalist for all seven agricultural mastheads in 2022 before shifting to The Land full-time in 2023.
