The conference was the brain child of a group of Wellington and central-west Merino producers.

President of the SRS Classic Ram Selling Group, and one of the event organizers, Norm Smith, said the conference was a reflection of the “exciting times” currently seen in the sheep industry.

“We thought this might be an ideal time to look at the innovations in the genetics, such as the easy-care Merino, and also the innovations in looking after the land,” Mr Smith said.

“The industry has changed; before there was a lot of work in sheep which is a turnoff.

“What we want to promote is an easy-care Merino, without a lot of the perceived work in sheep.”

One of the big messages from the event was the potential dual-purpose in the Merino breed, of both wool and meat.

Research and development manager with Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) Dr Alex Ball said the income for most Merino operations had shifted over the past decade.

“The ratio (of income) coming in on most Merino flocks is 50-50 between wool and meat, if not 60-40 to meat,” Dr Ball said.

“That’s a shift from 80-20 to wool about 10 years ago.”

Dr Ball said producers still tended to place most of their focus on wool traits, however meat is an area of big improvement, with most eating traits having moderate to high heritability.

“Grown like a meat sheep, (Merinos) perform like a meat sheep,” he said.

“You can make just as much progress in meat traits as in wool traits in the Merino.”

Dr Ball said selecting for meat did not have to mean losses in wool traits, with some of the best Merino rams for carcass traits, also showing good wool traits.

“At least 50 per cent of selection this year should be on meat, or you’re doing yourself a great disservice,” Dr Ball said.

Self-described ‘farmer-processor’ Peter J Trefort of Hillside Abbatoirs, Narrogin in Western Australia said the Merino breed still had a lot to give to the industry.

“We don’t need to change the enterprise, we just need to change the focus on what we do,” Mr Trefort said.

Chair of the event Patrick Francis, editor of the Australia Farm Journal said one of the biggest challenges going into the future is to ensure a good relationship between the producers and the consumers.