Mr McDonald won the 2021 ALPA Victorian Young Auctioneer Competition at Pakenham's Victorian Livestock Exchange on Monday after vying for the prestigious title against eight other young budding auctioneers from across the state.

The 24-year-old has worked in the stock and station industry for six years and joined Rodwells at Warrnambool at the age of 18.

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Following the merger of Rodwells and Rural Co, Mr McDonald joined Nutrien Ag Solutions and in 2020 was made livestock manager of the Warrnambool branch, making him one of the youngest people in a management role in Victoria.

Mr McDonald said he developed his love for the industry from his late grandfather, the late Noel Saffin, who was a director of the then branch Saffin Kerr Bowen Rodwells.

"I grew up going around with him on school holidays," Mr McDonald said.

"He never sold when I was around ... but he was a stock agent and I remember him as a very honest person who treated everyone with respect.

"He was a true gentleman."

WATCH: The 2021 ALPA Victorian Young Auctioneer Competition here.

Mr McDonald said he was "pretty nervous" before the competition but advice and constructive feedback from industry heavyweights helped him in good stead.

"I've had a lot of people help me along the way and I give full credit to Anthony Delaney, Adam Mountjoy, Rob Bolton and Tyson Bush but at home Phil Keane and Simon Henderson are like family to me," he said.

"The hardest part about auctioneering is getting up there and having the guts to do it to start with and then getting to know the buyers and the pricing.

"You often become that nervous that you get quite wound up but I've tried to settle down and just go with the flow and then it comes naturally if you know your values well and I've learnt that from my mentors."

The nine young Victorian auctioneers were judged on their voice, diction, price and manner.

Each auctioneer had the chance to sell two lots of two cattle (four in total) through the sale ring.

Both the winner and runner-up will compete in the national young auctioneers competition at the Sydney Royal Show in April.

The 2021 Victorian ALPA Young Auctioneers Competition finalists included:

The competition was supposed to be held in September 2021, however, due to COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions, the event was eventually rescheduled to early February.

Mr McDonald encouraged other young auctioneers to "get in and have a go".

"My favourite part about the job is working with the livestock; I love selling and auctioneering cattle and I enjoy doing something different each day," he said.

"There is no harm in trying and you build a very big network with all the contacts you make along the way."

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