It’s the unmistakable sound of British farming – auctioneers leading the bidding in marts up and down the country.
Often imitated but seldom mastered, auctioneers make a difficult job look easy. And Teesdale’s Megan Dowson has mastered the art.
She was named New Auctioneer of the Year at the recent Mart’s The Heart section of the 2025 British Farming Awards. Megan, 22, saw off national competition to win the prestigious award.
Looking back on that auspicious night at VOX, in Birmingham, she says she was shocked when she heard her name read out as the winner.
“It’s a massive awards evening; there are thousands of people there,” Megan told the Mercury.
“I was put forward for New Auctioneer of the Year. It’s based on your performance at work and your reputation. The shortlist was six and I was the only female.
“I didn’t find out whether I’d won until the awards evening,” she added. “I was sat at the table and they said my name! It was a massive shock.”
Megan comes from a farming background and dedicated the award to her late grandad Keith Dowson, who farmed at Woodland.
She lives in Startforth and caught the farming bug from her grandad. After leaving Teesdale School she embarked on an apprenticeship at Raygill Farm, Lartington, while also attending agricultural college.
Three years ago, she heard about a job as a trainee auctioneer at Darlington Auction Mart and the rest, as they say, is history.
“My grandad used to farm and he was proud when I started doing it,” she explained. “He’s the one that planted the seed for farming in the first place.
“When the job came up I was encouraged to go for it. I went for a few interviews and I got the job; that’s how I started.
“It’s a demanding job but it’s very rewarding. I love it here at Darlington, we’ve got a great team and I really enjoy my job.”
How hard is it to actually lead the bidding using that unique style of rapid repetitive speech?
“I thought going into it that it was going to be easy, but it’s trickier than you think,” said Megan, who sells livestock and machinery as part of her duties.
“It’s a hard one because there are only so many auctioneers you can listen to and learn from.
“You can pick little bits up but you’ve got to learn your own rhythm and your own way of selling – it’s a patter.”
Thanks to Darlington Auction Mart, in addition to her duties as an auctioneer, Megan is studying for a degree at Harper Adams, which is a university specialising in food production and technology, and animal health and wellbeing.
- Also attending the British Farming Awards in Birmingham were representatives from Middleton-in-Teesdale Mart Café, which was shortlisted for the Auction Café of the Year award.
