Pandemic or not, one job that has continued to be active, colourful and interesting, is auctioneering. And for young people wanting a career in farming, perhaps it offers an opportunity they hadn’t considered.

Starting with a residential week in January each year, the Livestock Market Operations and Management course is held at Harper Adams University in Shropshire, and leads to a professional qualification that can help aspiring auctioneers (or anyone else working in marts) improve their understanding of the sector.

The course is also a route to membership of the Institute of Auctioneers and Appraisers of Scotland (IAAS), and the Livestock Auctioneers Association (LAA) in England and Wales.

After passing the first two years of the course, students gain a University Foundation Certificate and associate status with their relevant auctioneers’ organisation. A further two years of study elevates their qualification to a Certificate of Higher Education and fellowship status.

Two auctioneers – one a trainee and the other a qualified fellow – give the low-down on their careers.

Trainee auctioneer James Scott

Trainee auctioneer James Scott

James Scott, trainee auctioneer, Caledonian Marts

James Scott originally wanted to be a vet, but after spending one day at a mart in the school summer holidays he set his sights on becoming an auctioneer.

“I like the fact that you get to speak to different people every day and that you get to work with the stock,” says James (22) who sells cull ewes and calves.

“It’s definitely about the interactions with people, there are so many big characters, including the auctioneers,” he adds.

Growing up on a beef and sheep farm in Aberdeenshire, James went to marts from a young age with his uncle, who helped manage the family farm and worked in the yard at Aberdeen and Northern Marts.

At 16, James left school and got a part-time job at the same mart, where he worked his way up to clerk, while studying for his HND in Agriculture.

He is currently in year two of the Livestock Market Operations and Management course, although the pandemic has disrupted teaching for now.

“You go to Harper Adams for a weeks residential in January and again in July. Then the rest of the year is remote studying, with lecturers on the end of a phone or email to answer questions and provide support.”

Students undertake three modules in years one and two, and then two modules in years three and four, explains James, with each module assessed by an essay and exam.

“The course doesn’t teach you how to be an auctioneer as such, it’s more the background,” says James. “In the first year we studied supply chains, animal health and welfare, and the inner workings of marts. In year two we’re doing the basics of law and valuation, and later on we’ll be doing financial modules.

“How quickly trainees progress in the mart is down to your abilities though, and what your employer allows you to do” says James. “An auctioneer has to be a confident, likeable person who is easy to get on with.

“If you’re unsure it’s for you, go and work in a mart for a while and you’ll quickly get a feel it,” he suggests.

James knows exactly what he wants, though: “I’m a sheep auctioneer at heart and long term I’d like to be head sheep auctioneer – so I’m always in the ring watching.”

Andrew Hunter-Blair, qualified auctioneer, Craig Wilson Ltd

The showmanship of selling is what originally attracted Andrew Hunter-Blair to auctioneering.

“I liked the idea of being in the box, says Andrew, who originally planned to study history and politics at university. “I’ve always enjoyed being at the centre of things and speaking in front of crowds, and did quite a bit of public speaking at school.

“Plus, marts are integral to Scottish agriculture, and this was important to me. Auctioneers are also generally held in pretty high esteem.”

But it’s the one-on-one conversations with farmers that Andrew has come to enjoy most. “I like canvassing and meeting farmers at home where they feel most comfortable,” he says.

Andrew (27) became a qualified auctioneer in 2016, and has been working at Craig Wilson Ltd since he was 16.

“It’s a rewarding job,” he says. “There’s so much variation, and pre-covid I would normally spend about one-to-two hours in the office on a sale day, and the other days out in the countryside canvassing.

“Right now, I spend more time on the phone ringing farmers to tell them what price their stock made. But that’s been enjoyable too because we’ve had such strong prices this year.

“It has also been important because farming can be a lonely job, especially at the moment, and auctioneers can be quite vital in that way.

“As an auctioneer you need to be fairly confident in your own abilities. You can’t show up in the box worried about what people are going to think. You also need to develop basic knowledge of stock.”

The professional qualification has many benefits, says Andrew: “It shows you’re serious about auctioneering as a career and makes you more respected in your job, plus it opens up more opportunities, such as the ability to do proper valuations.

“It’s a very good course to do because it gives you background knowledge to the sector and across the supply chain, so you know a bit about everything. For example, what rules the lorry drivers are having to abide by, through to rules the abattoirs must abide by, and even aspects of international trade agreements,” he concluded.