Bred out of the North Country Cheviot ewe and by the Bluefaced Leicester sire, the Cheviot Mule has been earning useful premiums for breeders of up to £10 a head over Mules out of Swaledale and Blackface ewes.

And even Cheviot Mule wethers have been finding favour with prime-lamb buyers who have been paying up to £4 a head more for them compared with wethers out of horned ewes.

Among the growing number of hill farmers producing Cheviot Mules is Angus Crozier who farms at Viewly and Embley near Whitley Chapel, Hexham. Although remaining committed to his Blackface flock as the main producer of his annual crop of Mule ewe lambs, he's been impressed by the extra income earned by his 200 North Country Cheviots.

Cheviot Mules have been produced from his Northumberland hill farms for the last four years - and the demand for them has been steadily increasing.

April-born Cheviot Mule ewe lambs have been sold annually at Longtown Auction Mart's special sale for the breed in September. The sale is now attracting around 5000 entries.

"We still rely on the Blackface ewes to graze the farm's heather on the hill but the North Country Cheviot ewes have done well on the lower land and scanned at 178% this year. They're exceptionally good mothers and produce stylish lambs with plenty of shape, good tight skins and real Mule character" says Angus Crozier.

His Cheviot Mule ewe lambs have sold to a top price of £80 apiece and averaged £71.73. That compares with Blackface Mule ewe lambs that made £70 to average £60.50. The Cheviot Mules had achieved similar values the year before - and were still worth about £10 more than the Blackface Mule ewe lambs.

Demand for the Cheviot Mule is showing a steady rise as buyers return year on year. And it's encouraging more hill flockmasters to consider running North Country Cheviot ewes to meet prime lamb producers' needs for a commercial breeding ewe that's earning a premium and producing a more valuable wether.

Cheviot Mule wether lambs have also maintained a consistent appeal to prime lamb buyers. Angus Crozier has been selling 46kg lambs at £46 while cast North Country Cheviot ewes have been averaging £35.50 this year compared with £24 for Blackface.

"We continue to get good reports about the Cheviot Mule ewe with several buyers telling us they're lambing well as hoggs too. She's certainly a ewe that more Mule buyers are taking a closer look at and we expect there'll be plenty of interest in the ewes we'll have at the North Sheep event," says Angus Crozier.

He's buying-in around 50 North Country Cheviot replacements every year costing up to £80 for shearlings and £55 for two-shears.

"The traditional Mule out of Swaledale and Blackface ewes has the biggest slice of the market and we'll continue to run our Blackface flock to supply that. But judging by the feed-back we're getting about the Cheviot Mule she's definitely a breeding ewe that's here to stay."