They recently combined at Henty to display the future of the modern non-mulsed Merino, shearing 25 mature female sheep each day on the TAFE portable platform.

Visitors to the stand were engaged by the exhibition as the shearers moved effortlessly over the soft, smooth bodies and the deep-crimped bundles of parallel fibres took the handpiece with ease.

TAFE NSW agriculture head teacher Rob Harris and Blyth Merinos owner Ron Blyth both agree the wool is the wool to grow because it can worn comfortably next to the skin.

An item of clothing made from Blyth-processed wool will be on display at the Blyth Merinos annual ram sale on Wednesday, October 2.

"When you're in it, you just don't want to take it off, it is so nice and soft and light and warm," Ron said.

Blyth Merinos also exhibited a grass-fed wether lamb at Henty and ran a competition to estimate his live weight, fleece weight (17 weeks growth) and wool fibre micron. Weighing 56.5kg and producing 4.1kg of wool with a staple length of 75mm proved these smooth skinned sheep produce a lot of wool. The competition winner will be announced at the ram sale.

A 3+kg from his first shearing values this lamb at about $300. Moreover, his easy care, almost fly-free mother will birth more than one lamb per year and produce about 7kg of non-mulsed wool. DSE wise, the most profitable type of sheep to own is a self-replacing flock of modern, non-mulsed Merinos.

TAFE NSW has trained over 700 learner and improver shearers over the last 30 years. Fifty-thousand sheep have been shorn, many of them Blyth Merinos. The TAFE/Blyth relationship has been a good two-way investment and is beneficial to the industry in general. In recent years especially, young people are encouraged to have a go now that sheep have become easier to shear.

The development of the Blyth Merino type owes much to the wisdom of the late John Pike.

"The biggest difference we have seen is in the transformation of Blyth sheep," TAFE's Rob Harris said.

"They were wrinkly, but now are an easy care, easy shearing sheep. Being in a high rainfall area, 30 years ago the wool had colour. Now the wool is white, growing about 15 millimetres a month, free and nourished. The wool cut averages four kilograms every six months. The tensile strength is now premium.

"Another difference is the muscle development on Ron's merino sheep. They have great eye muscle and fat cover.

"As for the welfare of the sheep, Ron has not mulsed for a number of years. This has not been a problem with shearing.

"The operational costs of mulesing are avoided and there is less trauma, stress and recovery time for lambs post marking. Public relations is improved, which helps to maintain market share. There is an additional financial benefit because the demand for wool in the market place from non-mulsed sheep is up to five-dollars per kilogram clean and demand is growing."

Rob said Blyth's commitment to ongoing support to students has been nothing short of phenomenal.

"This also transforms into a phenomenal commitment to the Australian wool industry," he said.

"Ron's sheep are without doubt well suited to his slogan 'Tomorrow's Sheep Today' and his ram sale is a good place to go and see a vision that has now been realised."