Noel Erskine: The voice of the Omagh Auction Mart

One of the most familiar faces at Omagh Auction Mart is that of auctioneer Noel Erskine.

The Ballygawley auctioneer started working at Omagh mart in 1987 when it was located at what is now the site of Dunnes Store on the Irishtown Road.

Mr Erskine quickly became part of the furniture and has been ever present since the mart moved to state-of-the-art facilities on the Gillygooley Road in 1995.

Thirty years on the quick-witted auctioneer reflects with great fondness on his time at Omagh and the generations of farmers and buyers that he has worked for in that time.

“In this job you wouldn’t want to be easily offended,” he said, when asked about some of the characters he had encountered over the years.

“You have no idea some of the things that men would say to you but it runs off me like water off a duck.

“All joking aside, I have to say in all the years I have been here, it’s been a pleasure working with so many men.

“I sold for men in the early years and I’m now selling for their sons and grandsons in some cases.

“I’m not saying I’m ancient or anything like that but it’s just the way time has gone.”

buoyant

Currently prices across most livestock sectors are buoyant and that upward trend is expected to continue in the near future.

Demand appears to be outstripping supply and the experienced Erskine says farmers are in good spirits.

However, in farming there is always a but, and at the minute the extortinate cost of inputs is seriously affecting farmers’ bottom line.

“Livestock has been a great trade for the last six months,” continued Noel.

“That said, one man was telling me that he can remember his father selling an animal in 1982 at Jack Boggs mart in Strabane at a beef sale.

“The animal came to £1,200 and in 1982 that would have bought you 20 tonne of fertiliser.

“A similar beef animal today selling for £2,500 would buy you six, maybe seven tonne of fertiliser.

“That just shows the overheads that is making things difficult for farmers.

“The price men are getting for livestock sounds great, but it’s the overheads that are killing everything.

“Everything has gone up in price, fertiliser, fuel and feed.”

challenges

Being an auctioneer in the world of farming isn’t exactly a straightforward business and over the past 30 years Noel and his profession have faced many challenges.

One of the biggest changes came during the Covid years when farmers simply dropped off their stock at the mart and went home to watch them being sold online.

“The arrival of online bidding was a very big thing,” added the affable Erskine.

“When stock were sold farmers would ring up to the mart to say whether or not they were accepting the price.

“At that time cattle was a great trade so nobody was coming to lift their stock.”

Following Covid, online bidding has remained in place at livestock sales right across the UK and Ireland and, in the modern era, buyers can now bid for livestock by clicking a mouse or traditionally by raising their finger, nodding their head or winking an eye ringside.