LANDMARK is proud to be celebrating 40 years of working with Landmark Southern livestock manager Bob Pumphrey, the familiar face in green on the South Coast cattle scene.
It all started years ago with Wesfarmers, when Mr Pumphrey saw plenty of very early mornings at Midland, yarding huge numbers of sheep and cattle for the weekly sales.
From there it wasn’t long before he headed down to Margaret River for a couple of years where he worked under the likes of Ross Smith, Tom Duggan and Neil Earl, learning the ropes of the livestock game.
“It was a fantastic learning experience working with them,” Mr Pumphrey said.
“They taught me a lot which definitely put me in good stead going forward into my career.”
And after a while in Margaret River, he moved to Albany and has been there ever since.
“I started out in Albany as a territory sales manager and gradually moved up the ranks to where I’m at now,” he said.
“During that time the local stud and feedlot cattle businesses grew so I’ve been working largely in that area ever since.”
As with any career spanning a few decades, Mr Pumphrey has seen the highs and lows but says there have been too many highlights over the years to single out.
“There have been so many highlights over the years – I couldn’t single any individual moment out, but it has been particularly wonderful to see the next generation grow up and come through the industry,” he said.
“Over the years my working relationships have grown and I’ve learned a lot from those people and in turn I hope I’ve been able to share a bit of my knowledge and experience along the way too.”
Mr Pumphrey has had a front row seat to the positive direction the cattle industry has been taking in recent years and said it has been fantastic to be a part of.
“Particularly in the last three to four years, we’ve seen record breaking prices and averages for both female and bull sales which has been very exciting,” he said.
“And I’ve watched the quality of both commercial and stud cattle improve enormously over that period of time too.
“A lot of work goes into genetics and careful selection so it’s wonderful to see just reward for hard work and such positivity around the industry – it really is a fantastic time to be in the cattle industry.
“Over the past 12-18 months we’ve seen prices like we’ve never seen before and there are more and more markets opening up for us to utilise.
“And with the continually improving quality of our cattle through better selection and excellent genetics, we really are producing a world class product which I think will continue to produce good returns going forward.”
Mr Pumphrey said Landmark was a tremendous company to work with.
“Landmark has certainly looked after me,” he said.
“And I absolutely love what I’m doing – there’s no two ways about it.
“I love seeing people succeeding in the industry and happy with what they’re producing and it really is wonderful to be a part of that.”
Mr Pumphrey said there were plenty more years left in him but thanked everyone he has crossed paths during his 40 years at Landmark so far.
“Everyone I’ve worked with and done business with over the years has helped me get to where I am today.
“I’m very greatful and I look forward to many more years to come in the industry.”
