Shane Carter discusses the uniqueness of his role as a livestock agent in the Northern Territory.
In his role as a livestock agent in the Northern Territory, Shane works closely with clients to support their cattle businesses.
He has extensive experience in the top end livestock industry, having worked on multiple properties across the Kimberley and upper NT. Shane started with Elders a little over 18 months ago, and is now based in the branch at Katherine.
Shane explained that his relationships with clients and being able to meet new people are the best parts of his role.
“Being involved in my clients’ business operations excites me,” he said.
“I love seeing growth in a client’s business. At the end of the day, we want to help as much as we can, and I love the satisfaction of buying and selling cattle for a client, knowing it was a good trade, and making them money.”
The job is not without its obstacles though, with the NT presenting its own unique challenges, particularly around remoteness.
“It could be a 10 hour drive out to a client’s property,” Shane said.
“You have to try and build a solid relationship with someone over the phone before you can even visit their property, and that isn’t always easy.”
Shane said the cattle market in his patch is softening slightly, but has overall remained firm.
“We have been very lucky that we still have one of the strongest markets going, it is sliding slightly but that is to be expected,” he said.
“There is a real misconception that it’s always quantity and not quality when it comes to cattle in the NT, but that is changing rapidly which is really good to see.
“We are seeing plenty of quality cattle in the region.”