FARMERS supporting Dartmoor produce helped educate people on how their food is processed when they held an open market last week.

The Farm to Plate event, held at Tavistock Livestock Centre on Goose Fair day, used demonstrations and stalls to encourage visitors to learn how their food gets onto their plate.

Stalls selling local produce, which included plants, meat, and different types of wool, were on display at the event, as well as livestock and food samples.

Organiser David Landick said he was over the moon with the turnout.

He said: 'It was a really good day and the weather was perfect.

'There was a fantastic attendance and a lot of people said they felt it was far more interesting than what was going on in the town.'

Mr Landick expressed thanks to all those who helped organise the event.

He said: 'The open market was a really good start to what will become an annual event.

'Everyone put in a huge amount of effort and I would especially like to thank Bridget Cole who was just amazing — without her, I wouldn't have been able to do it.'

The packed out event welcomed hundreds of visitors throughout the day, which was also host to a sheep sheering demonstration.

Dartmoor farmer Bridget Cole, of Greenwell Farm in Yelverton, said: 'It was a really successful day.

'There has been a lot of news on the TV about Goosey Fair and how it needs something new and that's what we have done.

'It was new, yet traditional — it was what people expected to see at Goosey Fair.'

Mrs Cole said the day was both fun and educational.

She added: 'There was so much on display for people to see.

'There was a dairy cow, along with all the food the cow ate, from the grass to the maize, to hay and silage and the milk which comes out as a result.

'We also handed out milk shake samples and cheese samples, which people liked trying.'

Mrs Cole said children enjoyed seeing the displays and learning about the animals and how they live.

She said: 'We had four different breeds of sheep with us and explained how each breed lives on different vegetations of Dartmoor.

'Then we explained how the farmer likes to cross the sheep to get a really good commercial breed and how that commercial sheep then produces good meat, which ends up on their plate.'