The 24-year-old livestock salesman is one of two NSW auctioneers to qualify for the ALPA (Australian Livestock and Property Auctioneers) National Young Auctioneers Final, to be held at the Sydney Royal Easter Show on March 21.

With Elders Wagga agent Joseph Wilks, Mr Fogarty will represent his state against the top two young salesman from Victoria, South Australia and Queensland.

At stake for the winner is a trip to Canada’s Calgary Stampede to compete against the world’s best stock sellers.

Mr Fogarty qualified for the finals this time last year, finishing in the top two of the NSW competition, also held at the Sydney Royal.

Like his fellow NSW finalist, Nick was also with Elders Wagga when he qualified and only joined Landmark Forbes in December.

Hailing from Wangaratta in north-east Victoria, Nick has already been in the livestock industry for six years, working in Victoria and Western Australia before his two most recent postings in Wagga Wagga and Forbes.

He said the judges would look at each auctioneer’s diction and clarity of voice, but also their ability to assess the livestock and set an appropriate value to open bids.

Nick firmly believes that livestock selling centres are needed to help producers get the most bang for their buck.

“I think so,” he said. “The industry has a strong future. Everybody has to eat, don’t they?”

“The live export industry is presenting a few challenges at the moment, and meat exports are struggling with the dollar the way it is.

“But I think you need the competition in the saleyards to keep the industry going,” he said.

“You still have to market everything right but I think certainly when the numbers [of stock] are lower it can always be a good option.”