Davidson Cameron & Co has claimed both the Top Throughput Cattle Agency and Top Throughput Combined Livestock Agency awards for FY26, in the NSW agency's first year winning either category.
The agency's 16 cattle assessors listed 14,167 head of cattle across 349 assessments in FY26, while its four sheep assessors added 6,546 head across 22 assessments, for an adjusted combined total of 105,715 head.
General manager Dean Taylor said the result was driven by dry conditions across the agency's footprint in the first half of the financial year, which pushed more cattle onto the market earlier than usual.
“It's been very dry here the first six months of the year,” Mr Taylor said. “We knew we'd sold a lot of cattle that normally sold later in the year.”
Mr Taylor said a lot of the cattle sold would typically have been held back and grown out and the dry conditions also prompted some producers to sell into their breeding herds.
The sheep job also held up well across the agency's patch, with strong prices encouraging consistent supply.
Mr Taylor said AuctionsPlus proved the right tool for tough season as it connected local vendors with buyers in areas with better seasonal conditions, with a lot of cattle in particular heading into western Victoria and South Australia.
“Our footprint was very dry, and close to us was dry too,” he said. “The people buying cattle were from a fair bit further away than what they usually are. On AuctionsPlus, if they can get runs of cattle and truckloads, it works well.”
Mr Taylor said the award was a reflection of the whole team at Davidson Cameron & Co, which brings together younger assessors and long-serving staff.
“We've been grateful. We've got a good bunch, a good team at Davidson and Cameron, and some good young fellas coming through,” he said. “It's a great achievement for those young folks that are having a bit of a crack.”
Of the 18 people involved in stock work at the agency, Mr Taylor said the team includes a handful of trainees alongside five or six senior assessors.
“We've got a good mix of youth and experience.”
Mr Taylor said getting younger staff accredited with AuctionsPlus early was a priority.
“We try and get them as soon as they're up and going and have a bit of experience with drafting cattle,” he said. “Then they actually get in there, do a few parallels and get going that way."
AuctionsPlus CEO Wyn Snyman congratulated the Davidson Cameron & Co team on their dual awards.
“Connecting agriculture is what we're here to do, and it's genuinely pleasing to see the value that can offer an area doing it tough,” Mr Snyman said. “Congratulations to Dean and the whole Davidson Cameron & Co team, they've clearly put the hard yards for their clients this year, and we're pleased to have played a role in that.”
Top Throughput Cattle Assessor: Darryl Napper
Top Throughput Sheep Assessor: Kelvin Donnan
Top Throughput Cattle Agency and Top Throughput Combined Livestock Agency: Davidson Cameron & Co
Top Throughput Sheep Agency: Spence Dix & Co Keith
Top Throughput Machinery Agency: Phillips Livestock & Auctions
Howard Gardner Award: Trevor Basset
Gary Dick Award: James Tierney
Young Gun Award: Charlie Bible