Social aspects of markets should not be underestimated

In the latest Mart's The Heat Standing the Test of Time series, supported by Shearwell Data and the Livestock Auctioneers Association, its chairman, Alastair Brown, highlights the value of auction marts.

After a spending all of his working life in auction marts, Alastair Brown says he is proud to have been appointed chairman of the Livestock Auctioneers Association at a time when livestock markets have never been more important to the agricultural industry and wider rural community.

From a farming family in Cheshire, in 1989 Alastair took a summer job at Wright Manley at the time when they had markets at Crewe, Beeston Castle and Chester, with the intention of then going to college.

He enjoyed it so much that when they offered him a permanent job, he stayed working his way up from clerk to auctioneer to partner before leaving in 2015 to join Bletsoes, who run Thrapston and Stratford markets, as senior auctioneer.

He says: "The fact that livestock markets continued to trade through the Covid 19 pandemic and lockdown reinforced just how vital they are as the fairest and most transparent method of selling livestock.

"But now that farmers are able to attend markets in person, I think it has really made them realise just how important the social and community aspects of attending market really is, and how much they missed it.

"Lots of markets now offer other services such as nurses and chaplains as well as professional services and retail outlets.

"It is important to support markets to do this and provide this community hub for farmers in what can be a lonely profession."

One of the biggest current challenges for auction markets, particularly in the Midlands, Alastair says, is the impact of bTB.

He says: "TB is a big issue which has to be sorted out by government. It is massively affecting farmers' both financially and mentally. They can't sell cattle when they want to.

They are having to keep youngstock, meaning they are short of feed and for many farmers keeping smaller herds it is just not worth all the hassle, so they are getting out of cattle.

"It also puts pressure on vets, of which there is a shortage and it is not helped by the fact there four-year, one-year and six-month testing regimes.

"TB is no longer significant a threat to human health, so it is time the government addressed it in a different way."

In spite of this, Alastair says he is still optimistic for the future of the livestock industry and markets.

He says: "There is a lot of doom and gloom, not helped by the media, but people will always need feeding. However, I do think Defra and those in charge of policy need to work more closely with farmers and find out what they really need.

"I recently attended the graduation ceremony at Harper Adams for students on the Livestock Market Operations and Management course and it is great to see so many keen young people coming into the industry.

"I have spent 30 years auctioneering and the great thing about it is that every day is different.

"I sell at the same markets three times a week, but every time it is different stock, different people and a different trade and I really wouldn't want to be doing anything else."