Elders Kingston livestock agent Darryl Napper has been assessing cattle for AuctionsPlus since the days of CALM, the platform's predecessor, but he's stepped up a gear with his online listings in the past 12 months, earning him this year's Top Throughput Cattle Assessor title for cattle. Mr Napper put through 8,349 head across 106 assessments in FY26, more than his combined total from the rest of his assessing career. His lifetime tally now sits at 168 cattle assessments, meaning this year alone accounts for well over half of them.
"I was very surprised actually," Mr Napper said of the win. "Very honoured and very surprised."
The surge follows a change in role. Mr Napper took over as branch manager at Kingston in June last year, after the previous manager retired, having moved to the town where he and his family had held a holiday house for 12 years.
"I just sort of got here and got my head down and started selling cattle and assessing cattle, and away we went," he said.
Timing helped. The district had come off a dry year with numbers held back, and conditions turned in Mr Napper's first season in the role. "Our season opened up here in March, and it sort of kept raining," he said. Prices lifted too, giving vendors confidence to sell rather than hold. We just went through and priced them right, where everyone's getting something out of it."
A shift in how those cattle reach market has also played a part. Where Mr Napper's cattle once went mostly through store and weaner sales within the local area, more are now sold online through AuctionsPlus, opening buyer interest well beyond the district. "It opens the markets up anywhere in Australia. You're not relying on just localised markets," he said.
It's a marked change from when he started as an agent about 30 years ago, when transport limitations kept most cattle trading local. "You couldn't get as many on trucks, and you sort of only stayed in local areas," Mr Napper said. "Whereas now, with bigger trucks and quicker roads, people are happy to send stock long distance."
Mr Napper puts his assessing track record down to discipline rather than good luck. "The thing with assessing is, if you can be true to the cattle, and don't give yourself any leeway in your assessments, if you're on the mark, you'll help sell them, and you'll continue to sell," he said.
AuctionsPlus CEO Wyn Snyman said long-serving agents like Mr Napper were the backbone of the organisation.
"Congratulations to Darryl and the whole Elders Kingston team on a standout year," Mr Snyman said. "It just goes to show, you never know who's going to be the highest throughput assessor next year."
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