Ned Hanigan – Wallaby, professional rugby union player, proud Coonamble boy and now AuctionsPlus cattle influencer.
Posting from his @shedhanigan Instagram account, this week Ned shared two stories about his parents’ Pasadena Angus lot available in tomorrow’s Eastern States Cattle Sale to his more than 8000 followers.
Schute Bell Coonamble agent Tony Mooy said his dashboard was lighting up with people looking at the lot – but he wasn’t sure whether that was from Ned’s influence or just because Peter and Sharon Hanigan produce quality cattle.
“They’re just some of the best Angus cattle around here, for sure,” Mr Mooy said.
“The Hanigan name is well known through the industry.”
When contacted by APlus News, Peter Hanigan wasn’t so sure about what was going on, deferring talk of Instagram and the like to his wife Sharon.
“Sharon would know what he’s up to,” Peter said.
He was also hesitant to guess at what price the lot - 59 PTIC heifers, aged 21-22 months and weighing an average of 543.7kg - on offer might fetch.
“I think they could make $2500, but yeah it’s an unknown quantity with heifers like that that are PTIC – they might make $3000 or $2200,” he said.
Sharon Hanigan was on the ball when it came to social media and commented that she had noticed more agents sharing lots for sale online.
“So many people are using that kind of medium now,” she said.
Ned – who is currently training in Sydney - is one such person, and she explained that he had a “blue tick” because he has so many followers.
Unfortunately, Ned doesn’t share much about the farm, but Sharon said his beautiful Border Collie is a regular feature on his page.
“He’s got a real interest in farming and especially cattle, so he’s always ringing up and asking how the cattle market is going,” she said.
“Ned loves Coonamble – anything he can help to do he does.”