Ten finalists have been chosen to fight it out at the Australian Livestock and Property Agents Association's Victorian Young Auctioneers Competition next week.
This year's competition, where finalists vie for the Graham Lanyon Shield, celebrates 30 years since the inaugural event started, that has seen a stream of young people develop their auctioneering skills.
Each of the finalists this year will sell commercial cattle that are being judged as part of the Royal Melbourne Show Prime Stock Competition.
The final will be held at the Victorian Livestock Exchange at Pakenham on September 9.
The winner and runner up will represent Victoria at the 2020 ALPA National Young Auctioneers Competition, held in Sydney at the Royal Easter Show next April.
Last year's Victorian winner, Elders territory sales manager Joe Allen, Euroa, who was runner-up in the 2019 national competition, will host a charity auction to raise funds for the Royal Flying Doctor Service.
The competition was part of the ALPA program to provide training programs to its members.
Each competitor attended an auctioneer's school held in Echuca earlier this year where experienced auctioneers assisted the participants to improve their auctioneering skills while speech pathologists provided advice related to voice conservation and care.
Elders manager of livestock operations for southern zone Ron Rutledge was runner-up at the first Victorian state event.
Mr Rutledge represented both NSW and Victoria as a state winner but was runner-up at the national level twice.
He said the event had come a long way from it's first year to a major competition.
"It's a good format for young people to aspire to compete," he said.
"It's put the industry in good stead and boosted the careers of many."
There were a lot of proactive Victorian agents who supported it.
Mr Rutledge said he was with Elders at Kyneton 30 years ago.
He sold his first sheep at the Avoca store sheep sale and went on to sell at locations including Goulburn, Hay and Jerilderie in NSW, as well as Kyneton and Bairnsdale in Victoria.
Mr Rutledge said the art of selling had changed over the years with the introduction of roofed yards.
The competition and the training allowed more auctioneers the chance to sell a wide range of sales including sheep, cattle, water, and clearing sales.
"Auctioneering is a great tool or skill to have, but it really just rounds-out your ability as an agent," he said.
"You have to be able to put stock within the location to sell them, and you still need to gather the right animals in the location.
"It does earn you respect from clients to be able to draft livestock, present them in the sale and then get up and sell them."
Mr Rutledge said auctioneers also needed to be professional and treat all parts of the buying fraternity with respect.
