AUTUMN sales of North of England Mule sheep - the UK's most popular commercial breeding ewe - have drawn entries of more than 200,000 ewe lambs.

The North of England Mule Sheep Association says the number of sheep forward for the imminent sale season will allay concern among many traditional buyers who feared the dire circumstances last year would continue to have an impact on the availability of Mule gimmer lambs.

Buyers from the Midlands and southern counties and from Devon and Cornwall, who traditionally head north each autumn for flock replacements, have welcomed the announcement of the number of gimmer lambs on offer at NEMSA sales during September and October.

At the start of the shearling sales, George Perrott, farm manager with Clinton Devon Estate which runs 1,500 North of England Mules near Sidmouth came North. "We were very impressed with the quality of the shearlings and bought 300 from the sale at Skipton," he said.

Buckinghamshire buyer Eddie Bulman, will look for about 5,000 Mule gimmer lambs for his own flock and to meet orders from other farmers, and he said the overall entry of 200,000 gimmer lambs would provide the wide choice buyers had come to expect at NEMSA sales.

"The North of England Mule is clearly back in business and that's got to be good news for commercial sheep producers," said Mr Bulman.

But, while breeders and buyers say it is impossible to predict gimmer lamb prices until the first sales are under way, no one is in any doubt that this season's crop of Mule ewe lambs on North Country farms is one of the best for many years.

Well-known Cumbria auctioneer Stuart Bell, who will sell many thousands of Mule lambs in the coming weeks, said: "It was one of the best lambing times anyone can remember and Mule lambs have grown on exceptionally well this summer. It's one of the best lamb crops we've ever had. Stick your head over any field gate and the Mule lambs look fantastic."

Mr Bell says potential buyers should not be concerned about any shortage of Mule lambs as the full programme of NEMSA sales resumes at markets throughout the North of England. 'There'll be some big entries at the major sales with buyers able to select from between 5,000-15,000 sheep from single day fixtures," he said.

NEMSA chairman Geoff Carrick, who farms at Alston, Cumbria, agreed that the large number of sheep on offer would put the UK sheep industry back on track after being deprived of North of England Mule replacements last year.

"It's impossible to predict the trade but everyone who has seen the quality of this year's lamb crop knows they can be assured of getting tremendous value for money," says Mr Carrick.

North Yorkshire breeder Richard Spensley of Leyburn, who has about 340 gimmer lambs to sell this autumn, said commercial sheep producers now demanded traceability and high health status in their breeding ewes.

"Producing prime lambs from commercial ewes that are fully traceable will become even more important in the future," he said. "All sheep at NEMSA sales are tagged and, wherever possible, details of full health status is given," said Mr Spensley.

Increasing numbers of Mule lambs are sired by performance recorded Blue-faced Leicester rams and County Durham breeder Bill Wearmouth said: "Using performance recorded Blue-faced Leicester rams is having a big impact on the conformation of the North of England Mule which will, in turn, yield benefits in terms of the value of the prime lamb crop she produces."