Kelvin Donnan named Top Throughput Sheep Assessor for FY26, second year running

Kelvin Donnan of Nutrien Ag Solutions Ararat has won the AuctionsPlus Top Throughput Sheep Assessor award for FY26, backing up last year's win with another dominant season across the platform.Mr Donnan, based in Ararat, Victoria, completed 120 assessments across 43,437 head of sheep in FY26, more than 3,000 head clear of the runner-up. It is his second consecutive year taking out the title and he finished runner-up for a number of the years prior.

The result caps off a career that stretches back in to 1994 when he became accredited with CALM, when he became the youngest Level 1 assessor in the platform's history at just 22 years old. He holds Sheep Level 1 and Cattle Level 2 accreditation, and has completed 1,080 sheep assessments over his career.

AuctionsPlus CEO Wyn Snyman said Mr Donnan's consistency reflected the value he places on the platform for his clients.

"Congratulations to Kelvin who has had another remarkable year assessing sheep for AuctionsPlus," Mr Snyman said. "His dedication to his clients is evident, and we appreciate that he sees so much value in using our national platform to deliver good results for them."

Mr Donnan puts his longevity in the role down to a straightforward formula: accurate assessing followed by consistent communication with clients.

"It comes down to accuracy of assessment, and accuracy of assessing the state of the season," he said. "Communication is key. You follow up, and if you assess the stock accurately, even if things don't go to plan, you follow through and make the right phone call. Accurate assessing leads to accurate delivery, which leads to no issues."

He said the win was as much a reflection on his clients as on his own work.

"It's rewarding, and it's rewarding for all my clients. I really thank the clientele for their support, and thank AuctionsPlus. I mean, you guys have been amazing. It's a credit to AuctionsPlus that you can still ring up and feel like you're getting looked after."

Mr Donnan said the platform's ability to aggregate larger lines of stock was central to the outcomes he delivers for clients in the Ararat district.

"We've got quality clients in the district with big numbers, so we can offer big numbers in a tight rate range," he said. "We try to put significant lines together, so we've got economies of scale for our clientele. There's hardly an offering I put out where there isn't a new buyer. It really is Australia's marketplace."

AuctionsPlus Awards FY26 Winners:

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

Industry Woman of the Year: Sam Platts

Machinery Excellence Award: Angus Newcombe