PRIMARY and secondary school pupils across the region will be getting an insight into the importance of livestock farming next year as part of a campaign by the Country Land and Business Association highlighting farming and food.

The aim is to improve the public's understanding of the role played by farming in the food chain and the vital role livestock farming has in our diet, economy and management of our countryside.

Without livestock farming, maintenance of the uplands, downlands, moors and hills which play a defining role in the West Country tourist industry would fail.

David Fursdon, national president of the association, told visitors to the Royal Smithfield Show, held at the Royal Bath and West showground, Shepton Mallett, we take the future of livestock farming for granted "at our peril" because, if it were lost, its contribution to our national life would be impossible to replace.

  • The Royal Smithfield Christmas Fair moved out of London for the first time this year and within hours of its opening at the Shepton Mallet ground, came the news it will now be a permanent fixture in the Royal Bath and West calendar. The show attracted more than 15,000 visitors.