Meet the Mart The Mart

Farming is a risky business.

-350, 380.

-And when it's time to make money, the stakes are high.

380, Fraser.

Thainstone Mart - one of Europe's biggest livestock markets.

70, 80 bid.

Sheep, cattle and machinery

auctioned to the highest bidder day in, day out.

Farmers spend months getting ready for their big sales day.

With livelihoods on the line, their animals have to look just right.

This is the thing that puts food on the table - of course I'm nervous.

Fortunes can be made and dreams can be dashed...

..all in the blink of an eye.

-It's just another day at work.

-Welcome to The Mart.

Deep in the heart of Aberdeenshire,

the Mart at Thainstone is the largest livestock co-operative in Britain.

Over 85,000 cattle and 300,000 sheep are sold here every year...

-44.

-..along with £15 million worth of machinery and cars.

£600. £600.

It's high summer and head sheep auctioneer Colin Slessor

is off and running in the ring.

At 168. Well, well, they are here for sale. At 168. You bidding?

168. You're losing.

The auctioneers are the stars of the show.

Colin's been here for 22 years,

-working his way up from junior trainee.

-168. 168. Thank you.

I love it, I certainly do.

You are there, you're trying to keep the attention of the people.

You're trying to keep them focused on the stock

and get them to bid as much as you can.

You want the thing to fly high as much as you can for the farmer.

It's his livelihood, you want the thing to be good,

so a bit of adrenaline involved there.

I wouldn't want to do anything else.

Auctioneering is something I've enjoyed for the last 22 years

and hopefully I can do it for another 22... Or maybe not quite.

Maybe 20, that will do me. Yeah.

Rory Livesey is hoping to follow in Colin's footsteps

and become an auctioneer himself.

But today his job is getting reluctant sheep into the ring.

You've got to keep the sale moving quickly.

The quicker the sale moves, the better the trading.

Rory's more of a cattle man.

Cattle don't try and jump.

Cattle are much less awkward than sheep.

Sheep always try and work against you.

They're quick, but I'm quicker.

32! 32!

The Mart's back-of-house team need to be on their toes, too.

They have just seconds to paint

the successful bidders' mark onto the sheep

before the next lot comes through.

Sometimes they jump over the gate and everything.

Christine McNicholas helps move the sheep to the holding pens

where their new owners will pick them up.

Everybody has their role to play,

and if that role goes right it just goes like clockwork.

It's thirsty work.

TANNOY ANNOUNCEMENT

The man on the tannoy announces the buyer

so the right mark can be painted on.

Some people who use the tannoy system shout into it

and sometimes it really does just do your head in.

But that's not very loud cos the person's not actually

shouting into it, he's just speaking.

But it's facing that way.

TANNOY ANNOUNCEMENT

Sometimes it's facing this way and it goes right in your ear.

The end of the sale. See, this is a buyer. He's going now.

Thanks, guys. Thank you.

-And this is the auctioneer.

-Thanks, everybody. Thank you.

You did well.

Short and sweet - a bit like the auctioneer.

10,000 Scottish customers rely on the Mart every year.

Their livelihoods depend on them getting good prices at auction.

And 50 miles away near Elgin,

one farming family is preparing for a sale.

-You sit on there.

-Andrew Anderson used to be a dairy farmer,

but plummeting milk prices forced him to switch to beef.

And give him some hay.

Today he's showing off his best calves to his wife Judy

and daughters Lucy and Chloe.

That one's coming to see you, look.

This weekend it's the Turriff Show -

one of the most prestigious shows in Scotland.

If these calves get prizes there,

they should get higher bids at the Mart's big annual cattle auction -

The Thainstone Spectacular.

When you win Turriff Show, make sure you it's in the catalogue,

that was the one that won Turriff Show,

so what people think - "Oh, my goodness!

"That must have been a real good animal, we'll try and buy it."

It could double the value of it, maybe even more.

And it's not just these calves

that would become more attractive to buyers -

winning prizes can up the value of a whole herd.

So Andrew devotes hours to getting them just right.

-Afternoon, Andrew. Nice to see you today.

-Fine. Good, good.

Not too bad a day, anyway.

John Angus is the Mart's head cattle auctioneer.

It'll be his job to get good prices for the Andersons' calves

at the Spectacular.

The usual question, Andrew, which is your favourite?

I keep changing my mind, cos I like them all.

I've taken a liking to this one.

-When I was in earlier, it was that one.

-Aye.

But it seems to go to there.

She's awfy good over the plates, that heifer there, awfy good.

So how many of these are you hopeful for the Spectacular?

-All of them.

-That's very good.

The numbers attract the buyers from the south.

To get the Englishmen up we have to get the number of calves there

and the quality you have here at the auction is the best place to

sell them because, get the competition going.

You don't know where the price might land.

Andrew's one of the top breeders in Scotland.

His beasts are often bought for thousands of pounds

by enthusiasts keen to enter them into competitions

all over the country.

There will be guys, probably buys Andrew's calves every year

cos they know how well they do for them to go on and win future shows

once they by from Andrew.

But they will not be disappointed this year.

Andrew's probably the strongest he's been for a year or two.

-You stay there.

-Back in the byre,

another potential prize winner has just been born.

Cow's licking the calf all clean.

It's a purebred Shorthorn bull, hopefully for showing one day.

You never know, down two years'

time it's a bull that could be at the Spring Show, Aberdeen.

He's definitely a good, strong calf. He's a good length.

That's what you want in this breed. An ideal calf.

Good morning. Welcome to Thainstone this Friday morning.

They're about to start in ring number one.

Back at Thainstone,

the yard men are putting cattle into separate pens

to be auctioned in groups this morning.

That would be his best heifer.

Some of these calves are to be sold by rookie auctioneer Rory.

While preparations for the sale continue,

he goes for advice from his mentor John,

who's been selling livestock for 25 years.

Once you've two people bidding,

you might see another guy bidding out at the corner of your eye.

But you never leave the two men that's bidding for a start.

-OK.

-The buyers don't like if they're bidding and you leave them

if he's not finished.

You should always wait until the bidder is extinguished

before you move on to another bidder.

And once you come to when you think the price is there,

when you think you're there,

don't hang about too long before you put the hammer down.

It's sometimes nerve-racking selling cattle that you know are worth

a lot of money and the pressure's on to make sure that you get them...

Another advice, you should enjoy it. That's one thing.

If you're not enjoying the box, well, you have to try and relax

-and enjoy it.

-Mm-hm.

John will hand over to Rory halfway through the sale,

which starts in just 15 minutes.

It's nerve-racking and it's an adrenaline rush as well.

You're getting up to a big audience, it's a real buzz.

But that buzz might not last long...

If I believe he's not maybe up to it this day, he'll just be out.

He won't get left in because we're dealing with farmers' livelihoods.

I have no problem pulling him out the sale ring

and going back in myself.

An hour into the sale, it's Rory's big moment.

I'm going to hand you across to Rory for a while.

Thank you. I've enjoyed your company today.

That wasn't easy, I tell you.

There's a Highlander coming in after these ones.

Oh, it's OK. Nice and easy.

Rory is from the Borders.

Unlike local man John, he hasn't grown up with these farmers.

That can make it harder to spot potential bidders.

And to add to the pressure, the seller is standing right next to him.

-How are you today, sir?

-Fine.

All homebred, I move onto the Finnesy farms.

Bids can be subtle and hard to spot.

30, 40. 840 bid. 850. 60. 70. 80.

90. 890 bid. 900. 900 bid.

910. 920. 930. 40.

950. 950 bid.

£950 bid. 950. 60.

960. 960. 960. Number two.

So far so good.

But one of the key skills of an auctioneer

is getting the right starting price - not too low and not too high.

670 bid. That's 670. 670.

At £670.

550 bid, then.

550 bid. 550.

550 bid. 560. 560 bid.

560. Can you sell it? At 560. Ross brothers, one.

-Cheers, lad.

-Thank you, sir.

Rory recovered quickly from having to drop the starting price,

and the rest of his session goes well.

845, 845.

Thank you very much for your attention.

I'll see you all next week.

It's hard to go backwards.

You shouldn't be, you should...

I kept playing stuff too high.

That's all right. That's how you learn.

Good. Thank you.

Very pleased with Rory today. He did very well.

He seemed to relax once he was in the box

and the good thing was he kept the trade the same as it was before.

That's the main thing. He didn't let the trade slip.

John is a good mentor because he guides you,

but at the same time he expects you to get on,

and if he thinks you don't have the knowledge or the skills

then you don't get a chance,

so it's a privilege for him to let you sell cattle.

25 miles away in Turriff,

Scotland's biggest two-day agricultural show is underway.

28,000 spectators admiring some of the best beasts in the country.

It's the perfect shop window for Andrew's five best calves.

Come on. Come on.

-But they're well outside their comfort zone.

-On you come.

Come on.

They've never been away from home, so it's all strange for them.

But I'm hoping they're going to get used to the limelight.

Ah, ah, ah!

Just let them settle down for a few minutes before judging

and their hair all prepared.

Andrew has high hopes his carrot-coloured calf Izzy Lizzy

could win a prize today.

First impressions when the judge...

The judge just takes to liking your one,

you have more of a chance, so that's what we're hoping for.

As soon as he catches his eye when it goes to the ring.

I really hope he's just going to fall in love with it.

But Izzy Lizzy has a problem.

Got a slightly swollen leg, she came back from the previous show

a little bit that way,

so I'm going to try and keep this nice and smooth down.

So hopefully the judge is not going to see that it's swollen.

And I'm going to fluff this one up slightly

and hopefully the judge is going to think they're similar.

The time for primping and preening is over,

now it's all down to the judge.

Four calves in her class,

and Izzy Lizzy, with her bad leg, is last in line.

-Well done.

-Excellent, delighted.

She wins Best in Class.

And Andrew's other calves also do well

with rosettes for Best Spring Calf and Champion Male.

-It's perfect.

-Definitely.

And the icing on the cake -

Izzy Lizzy is crowned Cross Breed Cattle Champion.

Hiya! Look what we've got. The 1st prize.

-Got a 1st prize. That's with your one.

-That's good, isn't it?

-Well done, Andrew.

-Thanks very much.

-You've had a very successful day.

-I'm sure you're pleased, are you?

-Unbelievable.

Now it's over to John to get a good price for Izzy Lizzy

at the Spectacular.

I'm hopeful to get over £1,500 for her now.

I hope you're going to start at 1,500.

Now this is the challenge from now on.

-It's all down to you now, John.

-Yes, the pressure is on.

I can feel it already. The pressure is on.

Late summer and with the harvest well underway,

farmers start to think about next year.

Buying breeding stock to produce lambs and calves in the spring.

And at Thainstone,

another sheep sale is in full swing with Colin back in the box.

180 bid. 182. Going to be sold.

Colin relishes every day at the Mart.

Seven years ago he was diagnosed with cancer of the sternum,

and the outlook was bleak.

I was very fortunate.

I received a chemo programme and a subsequent operation which,

touch wood and all the rest of it,

removed the, you know, it neutralised the cancer

and the operation removed the last part of the calcified tumour.

It was a worrying time for colleagues like Alan Hutcheon,

who'd been friends with Colin for many years.

I never actually thought that he'd ever stand in an auction box again

because he was just so weak.

Sometimes you went in to see him and I can remember him, the first day

of auction after the cancer scare, and you could see the determination.

It takes a lot of stamina.

It takes a fair bit of stamina standing there.

A lot of support, a lot of farmer support,

a lot of staff support and they wanted him to succeed.

That's in the past.

It was harder for my wife, my family, my colleagues

and my friends, you know.

I lost all my hair and just over three stone,

but I was a fat wee rascal to begin with, so it was OK.

A good auctioneer needs to know his clients and their livestock well,

so Colin's often out on the road.

It's a very enjoyable part of the job

because you're out there with good folk,

giving them a wee bit of praise for their stock.

If you can then follow through and give them a good price, it gives you

a bit of personal satisfaction that they're happy with what you've done.

Today's customer is younger than most.

-That's the two there.

-This two here?

-Yeah. That lamb's in good fettle.

Nice lamb.

13-year-old Joe Mckenzie has been breeding Zwartbles

for five years and is going to sell two of them at the Mart next week.

Have you got any tips for the best price?

Just presentation. If the sheep are in good fettle,

they have a bit of condition about them, looking well.

Like anything else,

if it looks the part then they're going to sell a bit better.

What do you think I'll get?

For the biggest one, you could make almost £50.

And maybe the wee one, that will make a wee bit less.

-I'll certainly do the best I can.

-Mm-hm.

Joe is an expert sheep-dog triallist.

He and Tweedie often represent Scotland

in international competitions.

Way, way. Lie down.

So what's your commands?

-Away to me.

-Yeah.

-Come by left.

-Yeah. And then lie down.

-Walk on.

-Steady?

-Yeah, sometimes we're like, "Take your time."

Colin was a shepherd for seven years after leaving school.

He wants to see if he still has what it takes.

Away.

Walk on.

-Or "get up" maybe.

-Get up. Get up.

Get up. Get up.

Get up.

If Tweedie won't do the work, then Colin will have to.

Good lass. Here. Come on.

Keeps wanting to go to you.

I never had the magic touch.

I certainly haven't got it now.

Colin might also have his work cut out

getting decent bids for Joe's sheep.

The price of lamb this month isn't good,

so I'd be happy if I got 20, £30 for them.

Back at Thainstone, Andrew Anderson is hoping for rather more than £30

for Izzy Lizzy at the Spectacular Sale tomorrow.

She's looking OK. She's travelled fine.

It's just we're really interested now what kind of weight she is

cos I think she could be heavier than all my other ones.

This is the one that's going to peak up the most,

the most weight of them all.

So it would be very interesting.

Never actually weighed this one at home before,

so this is the first time.

We'll know in a few minutes.

The ideal weight for a one-year-old is somewhere over 450kg.

Izzy Lizzy comes up trumps again.

I'm really pleased with the weight, I'm really pleased.

You always do wonder if she's going to be a lightweight,

people might not want to buy her for her age,

but she's actually perfect weight for her age.

Andrew's brought the calves' mothers along to help keep them calm,

and he's feeling anxious too.

You've got nerves and butterflies going to a show.

Hopefully the buyers will be there to buy the animals

and it will help me pull through.

£2,000 is really what you'd expect to get when you've got these ones

that's all had a real good prize at the shows.

Andrew is getting ready for his big day, but Joe's has already arrived.

Christine welcomes him

and his parents, Michelle and Scott, to the Mart.

-Are they Zwartbles?

-Yeah.

-OK.

Today, over 1,000 gimmers,

young female sheep, will be sold for breeding.

It gives flockmasters a chance to buy some sheep for early lambing

in January or February. Hopefully the thing will go well.

We had a good strong trade for them last year, so you never can tell.

It might be a wee bit less than they were last year, but we're hopeful.

There's people coming,

hopefully there will be enough people to buy them.

Some farmers are selling hundreds of sheep today,

worth thousands of pounds.

Joe has just two and is hoping for £20 each.

Colin's on hand to give him some last-minute advice.

Remember, if the price doesn't look too good,

make a sad, sour-looking face. Stand there and go... OK? Never smile.

Never pretend you're happy with the price. Always look sad.

Right. I'll do the best I can for you, OK?

I'll try and get as much as I can.

Good lad. Come on. We'll head up to the ring.

Where you going?

You going in the ring or are you going up with the auctioneer?

-I'll stay here.

-OK.

Young man's lamb, look. Joe McKenzie.

The bidding starts at £30 and rapidly goes up.

38, 9. 40. 2. 42. 4...

Another youngster enters the fray...

-Yes, Stuart Ross.

-..and bids £45, but he has competition.

-46, 48, 50.

With bidding sat at £50...

the lad seals the deal.

Away it goes. Done at £51. That goes to young Stuart Ross.

Next up, Joe's second lamb.

Another good lamb, fleshy lamb. 51 for the last one, OK?

Another well lamb, again.

33. I'm going to bid 4. 34. 5. Away at 35.

£86 for the pair - more than double what Joe was hoping for.

Right, thanks, pal. OK? Cheers, Joe.

It was a good price, so I'm happy.

I'm hoping with this money I can get more land and sheep,

but I'll see what happens.

And if I found a Zwartble or a Blackie I like,

I'll just save up and put it towards that.

Well done, Joe. High five!

Well done, Joe. Proud of you. You did really well.

-Your first one was 51.

-Yeah, that was a good price.

It's a pleasure to see a 13-year-old man with such ability and ambition.

I would like to think I was a wee bit similar to him at that age.

He's only sold two sheep today, but you'll see him again.

He's going to go forward, he's going to do well. That's for sure.

He'll be selling hundreds, possibly thousands in the future.

Wait and see.

For Judy and Andrew, this is the make-or-break moment.

They are hoping for at least £12,000 for their six prize calves today.

Andrew, it's getting pretty close to sale time.

There's a lot of buyers.

There's a lot of good buyers that's came

and they're all been in there looking at everybody's cattle.

They're impressed, which is encouraging.

It's all down to who's going to bid and who's going to buy.

It's difficult to know who's actually going home with them.

Is there anybody you can point me looking at your calves?

There's one or two.

It's difficult to say. I'm thinking they're really on them.

-They're keeping their calves close.

-That's a problem.

The Thainstone Spectacular is the biggest show cattle sale in Scotland.

14. £1,400 bid.

Only the best appear here -

that's true of cattle and of auctioneers.

Goes to Mr Henderson.

That's the ultimate thing, getting to sell at the Spectacular.

I would love to get the opportunity to do that here.

It could be a year's time, it could be ten years' time, I don't know.

It's a lot of pressure, but at the same time it must be a great buzz.

It's kind of the bosses' job, really.

I'm quite happy just to muck in and be part of the team.

Turriff Show Champion...

For now, Rory's behind the scenes,

John is in the box and Izzy Lizzy is in the ring.

Number 43 in your catalogue. Very fancy heifer. Izzy Lizzy, again.

The Anderson family are on tenterhooks.

They're looking for something over £2,000.

Izzy Lizzy, some heifer, then. 43. 2,000.

15 bid. 1,500 bid.

16. 18. 1,800.

1,800 bid. 2,000. 2,200.

2,300. At 2,300 bid.

Nobody else, then? At 2,300.

£300 more than they hoped for.

And their other calves each go for over £2,000 as well.

At £2,600. Away, then.

Izzy Lizzy's new owner, Welsh farmer Gwyn Edwards,

is going to enter her into agricultural shows all over Britain.

She just had everything that I was looking for in a show beast.

Fortunately for me I was lucky enough to afford her.

If you want the honest truth,

I never thought the Scots would allow us to come here

and buy some of their best cattle and take them to Wales.

Happy, had a good day.

And it's been a good day for the Andersons, as well.

Very good. Thank you very much.

Andrew's six calves made over £16,000.

We had a lot of buyers here today.

There wasn't enough for all the buyers

and they were really gunning for my ones cos I had them looking well.

They've been to all the shows and they were nearly fighting over them,

so all in all it's been a very good sale.

Give a cuddle. Aw, well done, Daddy.

The total amount bid for all the calves sold at the Spectacular today

exceeded £80,000, with just 3.75% commission going to the Mart.

That's a lot of happy farmers and an auctioneer with a sore throat.

That's it for today. That's the Spectacular for another year,

so it's start the planning for next year. It will come round very fast.

Years go past very quickly nowadays.

Could be a party tonight,

so I might have to lubricate the throat tonight, maybe.

That's the plan.

John's throat needs to get better fast - soon he'll be back in action.

Next time on The Mart...

John needs to get top dollar for the Sievwright family's calves

when they go under the hammer.

You only sell them once, so you're best to make the best job you can.

Hopefully I put a smile on your face.

The pressure's on Colin

when his ten-year-old daughter Rachel asks him to sell her favourite lambs.

When's our sheep going to come?

They'll be coming in a minute. You be quiet, OK?

And rookie auctioneer Rory struggles to get a local farmer

the bids he wants.

-900, 900, 900.

-Whoa, whoa, whoa.

-Don't give the

-BLEEP

-things away.

If Rory doesn't pull it round, he's going to have one unhappy customer.