Top auctioneer gets a gong

And he got the result in spades. Brian has become Australia’s leading dairy auctioneer and holds records for the highest priced dairy cow auctions, including one heifer which sold for $250,000 at International Dairy Week.

He also demonstrates encyclopedic knowledge of cow families, being able to recite pedigrees going back for multiple generations.

The skill was developed as a young boy.

“I was never that interested in school (he left at 15), so Dad encouraged me to read things like the Dairy Journal, and that’s how it started.”

Last month Brian received an Order of Australia (OAM) in the King’s Birthday honours list, for services to the dairy industry.

He has been intimately acquainted with the dairy industry, being born into a dairying family in West Gippsland, milking cows, being a dairy breeder, volunteering with a breed society, exhibiting cattle and judging in the ring.

Brian has left an indelible mark on the Australian dairy scene, as a key founder of International Dairy Week and a director for more than 20 years.

He was a former co-owner of 21st Century Genetics, the owner of Brown and Leslie Dairy Agency and a recipient of the Les Bunn Memorial Award in 2008. He was a founding director of Dairy Livestock Services in 2008 where he still leads the dairy sales team.

Beginning with Gippsland and Northern agent Daryl Brown before he turned 16, Brian credits a large part of his success to working with knowledgable mentors, good people and many successful breeders.

He’s very conscious of the opportunities he was given as a young man, and in return, he has invested some of his time into encouraging the next generation at youth camps.

“I was lucky to get involved with pretty solid people in the dairy industry, so I wanted to give back to the kids.”

Brian established the inaugural All Breeds Dairy Youth Camp in 1987.

He went to Canada when he was 20, working with industry auctioneers and travelled back and forth over the next 20 years.

As for his prodigious memory for pedigrees, Brian says he reads a lot and has been fortunate to have a photographic memory.

“I have enjoyed it; it comes naturally to me; I’ve been doing it for a long time. I’ve been talking about cows I have sold for more than 40 years.”

Brian’s selling patter at the podium can be mesmerising for the uninitiated.

He introduces each lot with a description of the cow’s traits and genetic background.

The pace of his presentation rises and falls as he takes the bids and he frequently stops for a ‘break’ when he reminds bidders of the extensive genetic history, without having to refer to notes.

Then, back into it, with a machine gun delivery of the bids, leaving anyone in the room under no illusion that if they don’t bid, it would be a wasted opportunity.

Although working for a vendor when he’s a selling agent, Brian says he doesn’t compromise on the advice he gives prospective buyers.

“If I don’t think it’s a good fit for a buyer, I’ll tell them that’s not the one for you.”

Asked about his career, Brian frequently uses the words, “lucky” and “fortunate” and always says he loves the job.

Brian, 59, is married to Diane and they have a daughter, Rachel. He lives at Kialla near Shepparton in northern Victoria.