FORTY years on the job and to celebrate Russell Mawson spent his day at the Euroa cattle sales.
“I’ve seen the good times and the bad times," said Russell of his career working with people 'on the land'.
"I have seen a lot and experienced a lot of changes in that time," Russell said.
Russell Mawson is a man with a work ethic that many would be envious of.
He started his livestock agent's career in Euroa at a very young age and his first job was attending a ram sale held in the pavilion of the Euroa showgrounds and he hasn't looked back since.
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"I went for an interview for a job with Dalgety’s – I was up against 14 to 15 other applicants," he recalled.
"I was first to be interviewed for the job and was told I got it on the spot.
"My boss who employed me was Geoff Langsford.
"I have found if you start with this company you end your working life with it."
"I did my first 12 months at Euroa and at that time the branch oversaw Seymour, Alexandra, Yea and Violet Town.
"There was a problem at Yea and I was asked if I could go and look after there, or the company would shut it down," Russell recalled.
"At Yea there was myself and two gentlemen in real estate.
"I ran that branch for between 10 to 15 years and when I left there was about 10 staff there.
"The company then asked me to come back to Euroa.
"I was in the livestock division and I am still in livestock and more.
"I run the operations from the front line.
"I don’t like to be in an office or behind a computer, I pay people to do that.
"I’m the 'general' on the front line and that’s how I like to be seen," Russell said.
"You lose touch with your clientele and the market if you are not out there.
"That could be any market including bull sales, real estate, farm sales, fertiliser sales and just advising farmers on their next move.
"I introduced the feature Angus sales in Euroa and then I was back at Yea.
"While there I was part of the committee that built the new Yea Saleyards and when I was at Euroa it was as the manager.
"I put in an application for the manager's position– up against 17 applicants – which I achieved.
"I have had a wonderful life working with the best lot of people I have ever worked with," he said.
"We have had an enormous amount of staff over 40 years – a lot of long term people here.
"It is a seven-day-a-week job and probably 17 hour days – 16 hours of which phone calls.
"We’ve had the good times and the bad."
Over his 40 years he has seen the company change hands probably four times.
"I started with Dalgety’s going through to ANZ, AWB, Westfarmer's and Agrium (presently called Nutrien Harcourt)."
Russell said it’s a great company to work for.
"Currently, it's going through one of the biggest changes I have ever seen," he said.
"The markets are changing by the day and running costs are massive, but in saying that, our company is here for the long haul.
"It’s a good feeling to know you have the backing, as we go forward with stability.
"We've gone from one young lady on our staff to around 35 percent young ladies – and now employ 30 people – here in this area Euroa/Seymour," Russell said.
"I started when I was very young.
"The day after I got the job I went and got a drivers licence.
"It was easy back then.
"I drove around the block and the copper said “you’ve got your licence".
"Now computerisation has taken over much of the job.
"You can take a photo of any animal on the farm – a piece of real estate, the drones that go over the top - and we can have that information in England or Dubai within seconds.
"When I started Hereford cattle were the mainstay of the industry.
"Now Angus have taken over.
"The marketing strategy has seen Angus boom – you see it advertised in fast-food restaurants everywhere.
"Is the meat any different?
"You could argue that all day long but the Angus Society, to their credit, are a magnificent marketing machine.
"We [Nutrien Harcourt] are now also the largest fertilizer distributer in the world – that’s all part of our business.
"It’s been good.
"The company has been fantastic.
"When I left Yea they gave me a send-off and I could not describe the number of people that turned up to wish me well – it was amazing.
"I knew every big farmer, every small farmer and everyone in between."
