MORE than 1,500 mule ewe lambs are expected to be offered at a sale in Tavistock this month, during an event which is going from strength to strength. The Dartmoor and District Mule Ewe lamb Association Show and Sale came into being after the foot and mouth crisis in 2001, when a group of Dartmoor farmers saw an opportunity to improve the marketing of their Mule Ewe Lambs out of Scotch Blackface and Swaledale Ewes. Chris Clapham, auctioneer with Ward and Chowen at Tavistock Livestock Centre, said farmers felt buyers might not wish to travel to the north of the country because of the obvious risks and increased haulage costs. The initial sale had an entry of 270 ewe lambs with all sold. ?The sale has gone from strength to strength in the past few years with more lambs being sold, new members joining and more buyers attending,? Mr Clapham said. Buyers have been impressed by the quality of the lambs, he said, and last year the group introduced the sale of two tooth Mule ewes. The 2007 annual sale on Saturday, September 15 is expected to offer 1500 ewe lambs and 500 two tooth ewes, all from local flocks. The sale has grown at such a rate it has attracted much interest from sponsors. Even a Dartmoor pub is backing the event ? The Plume of Feathers at Princetown has made a donation to attract buyers to use their bed and breakfast facilities. ?All sponsors want to be associated with the sale because of its success at such a difficult time for agriculture,? Mr Clapham said. The group has managed to obtain funding through the Dartmoor Hill Farm project to go on study tours and organise events. ?They have been to Scotland and Hexham to study techniques of producing quality mules and how to improve marketing them,? he said. The growth of the sale has had a positive knock-on effect to local sheep breeders. A new show and sale of Scotch Blackface females was successfully started last year and this year a new sale of Bluefaced Leicester Rams is to be held in October. Mr Clapham said another foot and mouth outbreak had been hard for everyone, but the group hoped buyers would consider sourcing their mule replacements from Dartmoor. ?The fact lambs bred on Dartmoor are already acclimatised to the South West is a bonus buyers are aware of,? he said.