Despite challenging weather, Westcountry farmers have been working around the clock to ensure that good-quality homegrown produce is available during the Christmas period, the National Farmers' Union (NFU) insists.
With the Christmas tree market worth £68 million nationally, the festive turkey market worth £77 million and 14.4 million kilos of Brussels sprouts due to be sold purely for the dinner table over Christmas, farming will be extremely valuable to the struggling economy during the festive season, says the union.
To highlight the sector's contribution during Christmas, the NFU has launched a special online "Farming's 12 Gifts at Christmas" calendar, showcasing the best that farming offers. It is available on www.farmingdelivers.co.uk.
Andrew Butler, the NFU South West acting regional director, said: "It is testament to the incredibly hard work being done all over the country that, despite the pretty atrocious weather conditions in some parts, you will still be able to sit down on Christmas Day and enjoy a top-quality British dinner.
"In addition, we wanted to make sure that people are aware that it isn't just for Christmas dinner that farming will deliver, there are cheeses, beers and poinsettias to name but a few things that come from our farms and form part of the traditional festive season."