Confidence in the sheep industry means that Europe's biggest ram sale promises to be better than ever this year. Entries at the NSA Wales and Border Ram Sale held at the Royal Welsh Showground are up more than 400 on last year with 8,383 sheep representing almost 40 different breeds.

A first this year is the chance to buy milking sheep. Two Friesland sheep have been entered for sale. And the Pedigree Welsh will join the long list of breed societies which stage their official breed sales at the Builth Wales venue.

Producers looking for a Texel tup will be spoiled for choice because the breed is going from strength to strength. There are more than 2,000 entered, including 680 ram lambs - well up on the previous year's 500. There are twenty new vendors.

The sale will involve 17 firms of auctioneers and 22 marquees - with the sheep subdivided by an astonishing 8,000 hurdles. The task of creating this mini village involves about 40 people and produces a turnover of more than £2 million in an area of low employment.

It's also a great social occasion. Farmers and visitors from all over the UK and beyond generally make a weekend of it before getting down to the ultra serious business on the Monday.

“We're quietly confident of a good sale with tremendous choice”, says Ram Sale Committee chairman George Hughes. “Ewe prices are up considerably on last year and good ewes have been fetching eighty and ninety pounds a piece recently.

“It all shows long term confidence and that hopefully will be reflected in attitudes when it comes to buying rams. The big attraction at our sale is of course that all the rams are inspected. Buyers can have every confidence that they're buying a ram that is in the best of health as well as of the best quality”.

This year an innovation is the chance to relax at the pre sale Shepherd's Supper. It will give the little community that springs up around the event the opportunity to wind down after the fierce competition at the pre sale breed shows.

Sale and show sponsors this year are the two ear tag companies Symtag and Ketchum and also, for the first time, Dectomax. The sale will be held at the Royal Welsh Showground, Builth Wells, on September 19.

“He had a lot of power and was very correct on his feet”, he added. “He also has a lot of character in his head, without sacrificing anything in the carcass”.

It was also a good day for Charollais breeder, John Davies, who runs the Windmill Flock at Holberrow Green, Redditch, Worcester. It was his sixteenth NSA Early Ram Sale and each of his 820 guinea rams were from different sets of triplets. The eleven rams he sold averaged 628 guineas.

The Group One genotype shearling ram he sold to fifteen year old Martyn Price of Broomhill Farm, Westbury, Shrewsbury, will join the ewe lamb Martyn bought from John Davies at Worcester last October. She went on to have twins and the delighted teenager couldn't wait to buy a tup from Windmill.

The other 820 guinea shearling ram was also Group One genotype and went to Rhian Poulton, of Llangadog, Carmarthenshire. The ram had exceptionally high Signet scanning figures, with very high growth rate and muscle. Mr Davies said it was the third year running that he had had the highest Charollais price.

Ram sale secretary, Jane Smith, also had a good day with her Millennium Bleu shearling rams. It was the second year for the breed to come to the early sale. Two Group One genotype rams sold for 300 guineas each.

And making their debut the Charmoise Hill rams made a top price of 310 guineas. The ewe made 160 guineas.

Ram Sale committee chairman, George Hughes, said that bearing in mind that more than eight hundred sheep had been entered for sale it had been a very satisfactory day. Some very high prices had been achieved.

“The NSA Early Ram Sale is now established as an important date in the shepherd's year”, he added. “There are still a lot of people who want lambs early and we fulfil that need”.

The main ram sale, Europe's biggest, takes place on September 19 when more than 7,500 rams from 33 different breeds will be offered for sale. The sales are organised by the Wales and Border Ram Sale Committee at the Royal Welsh Showground.