WAGGA livestock agent Alex Croker has already been recognised for his excellent marketing skills.
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And now he has new ideas and approaches to road test after returning home from Canada.
The award acknowledges and remembers the work of the late Mike Nixon who worked as a market reporter and analyst for Rural Press and Fairfax publications.
Mr Croker was at the Wagga sheep sale on Thursday after returning from Canada earlier in the week.
He was able to visit beef cattle operations around Alberta and spent three days at the Calgary Stampede.
Mr Croker said while there were similarities between the Canadian cattle industry and the practices in Australia there were plenty of differences too.
The use of video selling – not in the same way it is done in Australia with stud stock – was used in a commercial environment.
The “video cattle” as they were known were sold during a certain time slot and buyers were presented with specifications and video footage before making their selections.
Despite being quite different to techniques used here Mr Croker said it was something that could possibly work in Australia too.
Mr Croker has been a livestock agent for nine years and said it was a role that offered plenty of diversity.
He said there was always something different in terms of the environments he works in and also the marketing strategies.
“It was was a great experience and we meat a lot of good people,” he said.
Mr Croker said he would certainly encourage other people in the industry to enter the ALPA award and learn from the experiences.