Any career in agriculture is much more than a job.
Being a stock and station agent is a lifestyle, and even as Forbes Bill Dunn retires after more than 50 years in the industry he's guessing he won't be too quick to cut ties.
He counts those he's worked with as friends, and that phone he's been connected to for so long - well, he won't just switch it off.
An opening at Forbes Livestock came up not too long after Bill had left school and he's been there ever since.
Bill's father Ray was an agent and his son took to the livestock side of the business from an early age, joining Noel "Digger" Besgrove and Geoff Chandler in business when the opportunity arose.
In the decades since prices have crashed and they have soared, relentless rains have flooded the landscape, then dried up just as dramatically and left it a dustbowl.
As an agent, Bill's been right there with livestock owners through it all - and the boom prices of the past few years still have him amazed.
"This is unbelievable the amount of money that was generated then for the exact same article that we're generating now," he said, reflecting on the 60 per cent drop of late last year.
"When I started it was a disaster, sheep were making $3 or $4," he added, with those older in the industry suggesting he think seriously about getting into it.
But Bill did have a passion for and confidence in the industry long term - and believes wholeheartedly in its value to Forbes and district.
Bill was president of the associated agents, representative body for the stock and station agents, in the years the Central West Livestock Exchange was built.
The presidency actually used to rotate from agent to agent on an annual basis and Forbes Livestock nominated Bill when their time came around.
He had a bit too much going on to hand over the baton at the conclusion of his term so he served another, and ended up holding the role for 11 or 12 years.
For those who don't remember the earlier saleyards were where the Forbes Homemaker now stands, much closer to town, and they were all on one level.
Forbes delegates travelled the regions looking at other modern selling centres before coming up with the plans for the now well established Central West Livestock Exchange.
He recalls the anxiety about the cost of the new selling centre but believes it's a legacy - one that pays for itself and benefits the local economy with all those coming to town for the sales.
There are seven agents selling weekly at sheep and cattle sales - and Forbes Livestock alone would have as many as 18 staff out there on a sale day, Bill said.
Sale days are big events, with some huge numbers through the yards.
Agents would be at work by lunchtime Sunday to get ready for Monday's cattle sale, then straight back out to draft sheep for the Tuesday sale.
"These boys last Tuesday started at 2am to get ready for a 10am sale start, and they don't get out of there until 4 or 5 in the afternoon," Bill said.
Of course it's not just the weather and the markets that have changed in the industry, computerisation, mobile phones, the diversification of livestock breeds such as the introduction of Dorper sheep.
Forbes Livestock was early to venture into computer systems and Bill remembers the trip to Wollongong to purchase the first.
"It had a four disc drive, it was like the abacus of computers," he says, describing a unit more than a metre high and two wide.
"It did save a lot of time as long as you remembered that you had to do things in the correct order."
Bill had been raised with meticulous hand written records of everything but the business was growing and they had to account to every client.
The internet and specifically online auction platforms changed everything again, with Bill particularly noticing the drop off in travelling to regional store sales where he used to meet so many people in the industry.
The next change to come is the introduction of electronic ID for sheep - the systems now in place at the Central West Livestock Exchange and getting ready for it all to become mandatory from January 1, 2025.
One of the biggest changes has been the introduction - and rapid spread - of the mobile phone.
Agents are known for the hours they spend on the phone, as well as on the road, and phones have meant the two can be combined - at least while you're in range.
Before that, he'd be up from 6am to get on the phone by 6.30am, spend the day at work and get on the phone again as soon as he'd finished dinner.
Bill knew which clients to phone before 7.15am because they'd be out in the paddock early and which to catch a little later.
However and whenever you contact them, what hasn't changed is that the life of an agent is all about the people.
Forbes Livestock works not only around Forbes and Parkes but to Wellington, Narromine, Lake Cargelligo and to the west, to Cowra and nearly to Bathurst.
They also have excellent relationships with reciprocal agents to extend their reach.
"It's a life style this game rather than a job, it goes pretty much 24/7," Bill said.
"The people you deal with are your clients but they're also your friends, your mates, and that's the biggest part that I'm going to miss."
He's loved the job: its constants like Monday sheep sale and Tuesday cattle sale that have driven his week for so long; and the variety that comes with changing weather, markets and of course people.
Although he's formally retired, Bill won't be changing his phone number and he hopes those he's remained in contact with over many years will continue to pick up the phone and give him a call for a chat.
He and Carol won't have any trouble filling the days with their plans to spend more time with the grandchildren and hopefully doing a bit of travel.
But after more than five decades in the industry, he's worked with generations in some families and they'll always be mates.
"I'm not just going to turn the phone off," he said.