NEMSA Articles as of February 2008 Select Mules with improved carcass quality that also last longer The completed Longwool breeding research project has shown that an ‘improved’ Mule/Halfbred ewe, identified through widespread use of a new economic index in crossing sire sheep, can bring huge and sustained benefits to the UK sheep industry during the challenging years ahead. click here to read full article Never buy a gimmer lamb for today, always buy it for tommorow In 1985 I was farming with my twin brother, Alan, and mother. We went to Hawes in the September and bought 110 mule gimmer lambs. click here to read full article Facing Future Demands In 2005, I wrote a piece for ‘Mule News’ which pointed to a positive future for the Mule ewe. However, I also sounded a warning note because the UK sheep industry was on the brink of major changes. click here to read full article NEMSA Articles as of February 2007 Keeping the Farming Wheel Turning The Tenant Farmers Association exists to advise and support tenant farmers throughout England and Wales, and lobbies for a legislative framework within which farm tenants and the farm tenancy system, can thrive. click here to read full article Q. Have North Of England Mules Lived Up To Expectations? With our long standing friend/customer Mr Percy Gilman in mind, I asked the above question of two farming businesses that either changed totally to North of England Mules or bought into them for the very first time. click here to read full article Bill! Bill was going to the Young Farmers dance, He'd never been there before, He'd hoped to go to it last year, But fell asleep on the sheep shed floor. click here to read full poem NEMSA Articles as of February 2006 A True Ambassador We were all saddened by the death on July 14th 2005 of our President Mr. Val Caton. Val died peacefully at home surrounded by his family. click here to read full article Fitzwilliam Farmers A change in estate policy in the year 2000 left 197ha Milton Park the only area farmed in hand by Fitzwilliam Farms. Milton Park lies on the outskirts of Peterborough and is grazed by a flock of around 1400 ewes, half of them Mules and the other half first crosses out of Mules. click here to read full article Mineral Deficiencies Should not be Overlooked Lack of an essential trace element can compromise flock health and performance. The versatile nature of the mule sheep places it in a healthy position in the UK sheep industry. Capable of performing successfully in both extensive and intensive systems, mules should keep their prominent role in commercial lamb-producing flocks. Improved animal health will play a key part of the success. click here to read full article Dry Year, Little Rain Well, where do I start. 10 years ago I left school. I loved farming and always wanted to come home and be on the farm. The farm then was a mixed farm with about 800 acres arable, 50-60 cattle and 700 ewes. I liked the different jobs, no two days were ever the same, but from an early age, well before I left school I enjoyed the ‘SHEEP’, yes, I really enjoyed working with the sheep. So when I finished school I asked my father if I could have some sheep of my own. Mules were mentioned!! We had some mules already in the farm flock, but they were mostly Texel cross ewes. So we asked a local farmer that went North to buy North country Mule ewe lambs – a Mr Eddie Bullman – who I must say has bought me some very nice lambs over the years and I am very pleased with them. click here to read full article The Dawning of a new era? At the turn of the year everyone was talking about 2005 as the dawning of a new era - a year of changes to agriculture ‘the like of which has not been seen since the Agriculture Act of 1947’. Now 12 months on I wonder how many sheep farmers feel that 2005 has been a revolutionary year? click here to read full article Easy Care Mule Breeding Mule breeders could do much to improve the easy care traits in their sheep. Ability to lamb unaided is paramount. One man can expect to look after 600 Mule ewes lambing outside on a grass-only diet but 1000 if they are selected for easy care. The savings in costs are obvious. click here to read the full article NEMSA Articles as of February 2005 Assured Future for Mule Ewes 2005 marks a new era for the sheep industry. Since 1980, when the Sheep Meat Regime (SMR) was introduced, we have had to strive to maximise subsidy payments to secure profit, responding to the requirements of the SMR, rather than reacting to market forces. Our inability to look critically at the cost effectiveness of production systems and the demands of the market has left the industry with inherent weaknesses that we now have to address. click here to read the full article Selection Index to improve Crossbred Sheep Crossbred lambs sired by high - index Bluefaced Leicester rams grow quicker and have higher carcass quality. That is an important finding of a major research project - the 'Longwool Project' - focused on developing a selection index to improve carcass merit in the crossing sire breeds without compromising their good mothering ability, litter size or hardiness. click here to read the full article NEMSA Articles as of February 2004 The Sheep for the Future Keepers of the Landscape The prolific crossbred ewe – the North of England Mule - has in the past and continues to play a major role in shaping the countryside of its homeland as well as being pivotal in prime lamb production across the UK. Click here to read the full article >> Mule Festival On Friday 12th September 2003 members from the Cumbria Branches of N.E.M.S.A. welcomed buyers and vendors to The Shap Wells Hotel to a Mule Festival. The event was kindly supported and funded by Cumbria Fells and Dales Leader +. Click here to read the full article >> Bluefaced Leicesters With the dark days of Foot and Mouth well behind us, the Bluefaced Leicester has once again installed its superiority on the Breeding Ewe market. The Mule trade over all has been outstanding followed by a trade for Leicester Rams, which reflects the demand for the breed. Sceptics would argue that this is due in the main to a shortage of numbers but with other breeds in abundance, the Leicester has not lost any ground. Click here to read the full article >> ACHIEVING A COMPACT LAMBING Hans Pörksen reports how his neighbour Ian Fenwick, farm manager for Mrs Betty Campbell at Rothley East Shield, Longwitton Morpeth , Northumberland is using the ram effect to full advantage. The 205 ha LFA all grass farm carries 85 Lim cross suckler cows, 500 mule and 300 horned ewes which are Swaledales and Lanark type Scottish Blackface crosses, as well as 210 hoggs. All female sheep are homebred and rams are bought in. Click here to read the full article >> NEMSA Articles as of May 2003 The North of England Mule The growth in interest in the North of England Mule has assured its place in every parish within the country. This cross-bred sheep sired by the Bleufaced Leicester which is one of the most prolific of British sheep breeds, has a Swaledale or Northumberland type Blackface dam. The latter two breeds born and reared on the Northerm fells and moors are noted for qualities of hardinessm thriftiness and longevity. Click here to read the full article >>