KATIE Lewis acknowledges it’s been a tough 12 months in the livestock industry, which makes the recognition of her hard work, taking out the top AuctionsPlus cattle assessor award all the more poignant.
The late director of Corcoran Parker, Trevor Parker was one of Katie’s mentors, and the man to offer her an opportunity in the industry, trying her hand at assessing.
Working part-time counting sheep on a Monday, progressed to taking on the Wednesday sales, and realising her potential after a six-month trial Trevor gave her a full-time role.
She hasn’t looked back since.
With the hard work came a steely determination and conviction that she had found her calling, the team at Corcoran Parker championing her ability to market cattle and market them well.
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It was Trevor who said “anyone call sell stock when the market’s up; the real agents shine when the market sees a drop”.
Katie likes to think this award would make him proud.
Accolades in assessing are based on volume, so to achieve that industry recognition you have to put up the most cattle for sale.
Katie’s made top five in the weekly titles more than half a dozen times over the last year, which is a massive achievement when volume for Katie requires visiting multiple producers.
“To receive the throughput award backed by clearance rate is incredibly humbling,” she said of the national accolade.
“It is both a huge privilege and responsibility to be entrusted with the sale of what can be some people’s entire livelihood.
“I don’t take that privilege lightly.
“It’s an incredible feeling when you’ve done the marketing, targeted the right audience for the cattle and got the result.
“There really is nothing like making that phone call when a sale has exceeded initial expectations,” she said.
For the year that has been, Katie believes 2024 has offered some real opportunities both from a selling and buying perspective.
“People have been able to cull out some older stock in a buoyant cow market and make some real herd improvements,” she said
“And we’ve also pushed through the supply bottleneck we experienced in 2023 and processors are back on track, which is a positive for the industry.
“We’ve just experienced quite a hard Autumn/Winter in the North East and producers haven’t been able to get their crops out of the ground.
“But in the north and in parts of the west, growers are having the best start to the season they’ve ever seen.
“And that’s why AuctionsPlus is an invaluable marketing platform.
“Being able to list cattle and reach a national audience and target the buying power where it lay has really kept an honest floor in the market,” Katie said.
Katie believes country-wide demand for the local product is also directly attributable to the quality of the cattle bred across the North East and up into the Southern Riverina, a territory she considers herself incredibly fortunate to represent.
Based in the Wodonga office, Katie’s territory extends down to Ballarat and surrounds, than all the way up to Walget in northern New South Wales.
It pushes four hours out to the west and then three to the east, and so every week Katie clocks up the miles doing what she loves best.
“It’s the commitment that our local farmers devote to improving their livestock through genetics and management that has made them such a sought-after commodity,” she said.
With the region’s reputation solidified for premium quality cattle, Katie said that it is this assurance of quality that has become the bottom line to marketing them.
“I’d like to thank all of my clients for making my job that much easier,” she said with a laugh.
However this doesn’t mean Katie takes reputation as a guarantee, priding herself on accurately describing cattle.
“If you want the best results for your client you have to be honest about the cattle, as buyers are buying under contract and what they read is what they have to get,” she said.
“From a seller's perspective, they are avoiding yard fees and cartage, and so the whole transaction can be a win-win for all parties, but it boils down to an honest assessment.”
Quoting from her late mentor Trevor Parker, Katie said “Right is right.
“Wrong is wrong.
“And half right is still wrong.
“When assessing cattle, I like to imagine myself as both the vendor and the buyer, and stick to a ‘no surprises’ policy.
“I aim to produce very thorough and detailed assessments, and always question myself as to whether I would be happy with the way these cattle were described if I purchased them.”
Taking out this year’s top cattle assessor award is proof in itself that Katie’s attention to detail and integrity, balanced with clear business and marketing strategies are delivering results for her producers.
And that’s what makes her happy.
“I love being able to bring that personal element to each assessment and develop that rapport with each and every farmer.
“To market their cattle at the right place in the right way to the right market and achieve absolute top dollar,” she said.
“It makes my day, to see a farmer smile when you’ve done a cracker job.”
