At 78, John is going into semi-retirement, and has thanked both agents and buyers for their company, advice and support over more than 45 years.

Mr Chapman's second cross lambs, from his property Lynwood, half way between Wallendbeen and Harden, have often topped the market at Coota.

He recently sold Lynwood to a younger farmer on an adjoining property, but he and his wife Margaret will continue to live in their house there, and he will "help this young bloke and keep my hand in".

"I'm still reasonably healthy and I don't want to retire and do nothing and go downhill, so I'm still going to do a lot of farming", he says.

Semi-retirement will give him the opportunity to enjoy a more leisurely life with Margaret and to keep playing tennis, with the couple travelling to seniors tournaments recently at Ulladulla, Moruya and Narooma.

Mr Chapman's family has been selling sheep in Cootamundra for 67 years.

His father Stanley bought 500-acre "Woodgrove", next to the Cullinga gold mines, in 1924 and worked it with teams of horses, selling sheep to Sydney buyers and transporting them to Wallendbeen or Harden to be loaded onto a train.

John Chapman went to sales with his father, but he times his own involvement with Cootamundra Saleyards to about 12 years after he and his brother Bevan bought Lynwood, in 1962.

The good prices his lambs have fetched, he says, are mainly due to careful management, making sure they've been properly fed and fattened. The 330-hectare property has in good years yielded 200-250 tonnes of wheat, 1,000 sucker lambs and 40 bales of wool.

He's been "very happy" with Cootamundra Saleyards, and especially with his business relationship with Adam Randell, now of BLM.

"Adam has been our chief stock advisor and auctioneer for the past 18 years, through various agents, playing a very important role in the success of our business."