Saleyard clerk

Sue Hird, a saleyard clerk for Wrightsons in Hamilton chats with the Frankton sale yards manager Lindsay Hamilton.

Name: Sue Hird
Age: 57
Job title: Saleyard clerk
Working hours: April to November, 8am to 6pm three days a week; 8am to 3pm rest of year, three days a week.
Employer: Wrightson; other stock companies
Pay: $12 to $16/hour depending on experience
Qualifications needed: A sense of humour, computer skills, ability to cope under pressure
Career prospects: Other stock company administrative positions

What to do you do?

The first thing we do in the morning is download sales data. All the agents book in stock at night and it's got to be collated. We get the customers' numbers out of the computer. When the stock arrive in the pens we get the pen number and the tally [of stock] and enter that in the computer.

All the time buyers are registering, the phone's ringing, there are queries, the agents are telling you things, members of the public are ringing to ask how much a white-faced bull will go for (well, it depends on their age and size).

When the stock is sold it goes in the computer. The buyers sign a delivery docket and we give them an invoice on the day. At the end of the day we do the balances, sometimes it's simple and straightforward but sometimes it's not.

Why did you choose this job?

The hours and because it's part-time. I used to work at IRD. There's no pressure here by comparison. It's a piece of cake. Here, at the end of the day it's finished and you go home.

At IRD it just kept coming and coming. The downside is you never know on busy days when you'll finish.

Why is the job important?

Because people want to eat meat. It sets the market price to a certain extent. And where would people sell stock that is not going to the works?

What's the best thing about the job?

There are always different people coming in. There's a big variety of people and a lot of characters. Each day is different. And it's unique that the Frankton saleyards are right in the middle of Hamilton.

We've had a few runaway stock. We've had them go over the [railway] overbridge and all the way out to Te Rapa.

One guy didn't back his ute in far enough one day and a sheep got away. We called the council to get it and they wanted to charge the man money for catching it. It would've been more than the sheep was worth and I got on the phone and said he was just a pensioner. The whole thing was very funny.

Sometimes we get people coming in for just one sheep and taking it away in the boot of their car. One guy took a pig away in what looked like a cat cage.

At Christmas, Santa Claus hoses down the yards. He gets a few toots [from passersby]. We have a lot of fun, a lot of laughs. It breaks the tension and stress.

What skills do you need for the job?

A good saleyard clerk is tolerant. You can't be a vegetarian. You need to be aware of farming practices and if you grew up in a farming area it makes it easier.

It helps if you don't mind the smell. When you arrive in the morning the yards are clean so we don't notice that the smell builds up through the day.

When we absorbed [another stock firm] Williams and Kettle it brought Matangi, Tirau, Te Awamutu and Ngatea in as saleyards for us to service. The agents have to go to them as well. We'd had Frankton, Morrinsville and Paeroa before that.

What skills will you learn on the job?

You get a knowledge of stock and you learn how saleyards work. There's probably nothing else quite like it. I don't think the average townie would know how they work or how to go about buying an animal.

What's your job hunting advice?

Phone all the stock companies and ask about openings. Most of the jobs are part-time but it can build into more.