Auctioneering an ideal career step for wool enthusiast

Shannon Porter admits she may have been a little nervous when first becoming an auctioneer. Now it’s something she takes in her stride.

Shannon Porter regularly wields the gavel at Australian wool auctions and this week was a good one to be in the hot seat.

She is an auctioneer and showroom floor co-ordinator with Nutrien in Brooklyn, west of Melbourne.

Auctioneering continues to attract women who are keen to embrace careers in agriculture, and for Shannon it was a logical step in her profession.

The wool market has experienced plenty of fluctuations in recent times. However, prices increased this week, with most categories experiencing gains.

Shannon said it was great to see some positivity and enthusiasm return to the market.

Seventeen-micron wool was up 26c/kg this week in Melbourne to settle at 1743c/kg, and the 18-micron category also shot up 18c/kg to an average of 1560c/kg. Overall, the Eastern Market Indicator reflected the sale improvements to finish the week at 1172c/kg, an improvement of 14c/kg compared to last week.

Shannon grew up on a cropping and sheep property at Marnoo in the Wimmera and developed a keen interest in the wool industry.

She began working for Nutrien (formerly Landmark) in 2013 and then took up auctioneering in August 2018.

“It was one of those things; I wanted to further my abilities in the industry,” she said.

Shannon Porter and Terry Hayward with Ted Wilson and Bruce Zeuschner at the wool auctions this week. Picture: Zoe Phillips

Shannon concedes that it was a bit daunting at first. However, she drew on advice from mentors and the tips she had learned from regularly attending auctions and working on the showroom floor.

She sells in cents per kilogram, saying the pace can be fast and numbers vary significantly.

During the initial stages, she would use the guideposts on the side of the road to practice adding up the numbers or the values.

“At the time, I was part of the selling team, and I knew auctioneering was one thing I needed to do to round out the role or complete what I had already learned,” she said.

Shannon started in Melbourne and sold the crossbred wool with a full gallery of clients and buyers watching on.

It’s not unusual to have up to 25 buyers purchasing wool during the Melbourne auctions.

“I remember being nervous at the start, but I was confident enough,” she said.

Shannon said selling wool was a very different style of auctioneering for sheep and cattle, and the flow varied.