For most farmers, Christmas Day tends to be a day much like any other: there are still animals to be fed and looked after.

For dairy farmers there is still the early morning and late afternoon milking to do and the food and festivities have to be fitted in around that.

We asked a few local farmers what they will be doing and, just as importantly, what they will be eating, this Christmas Day.

Stuart Meade is the founder of #ManxMarch, the social media phenomenon that had us all searching for local meat and produce during lockdown. If you ever want menu inspiration, check out their page on Facebook: you will find endless photos of mouth-watering meals, all made from locally sourced ingredients.

Stuart, himself a keen and accomplished cook, recently posted a photo of a joint of belly pork from Ballakelly Farm, with the crispiest crackling ever and we wanted to know the secret.

’Put loads of salt on to get the moisture out then crisp it up at 230 degrees for 25 minutes. Then turn it down to 160 degrees and slow roast for two to two and a half hours.’

Stuart and his partner Ruth also have Red Mie Farm, in Bollyn Road Kirk Michael and that is where their Christmas Day will begin: ’We will be going to the farm in the morning and letting everybody out and feeding and watering them.’

When Stuart says ’everybody’ he really means it.

He and Ruth have 200 chickens, 17 cockerels, 115 Loaghtans, 50 ducks, six farm cats and some geese and goats.

’On the way home we’ll stop at some friends for a mince pie and a glass of sherry then we’ll go to Ruth’s parents for Christmas dinner.’

On the menu will be a goose raised at the farm.

Stuart has also given us his recipe (see opposite page) for a fuss-free Christmas Eve casserole that will bubble along good-naturedly in the oven or slow cooker.

It can then be kept hot without spoiling ready for people arriving with presents or coming in late from the pub.

Stuart and Ruth had planned to get married this year but, as with many people, Covid-19 got in the way: ’But this year, 2021, we are going to do it, no matter what,’ says Stuart.

Manx NFU president Tim Johnston is looking forward to an easier Christmas this year. He says: ’I don’t have a dairy herd any longer so I don’t have to do much on Christmas Day.

’We’re at home for the day: two grannies, a couple of friends, my wife, Maria, and our two children, Ben and Ellie, so there will be eight of us sitting down to a local rib of beef.’

Peter Quayle, who farms in St Mark’s as well as running the Central Mart, is looking forward to the annual poultry sale tomorrow at the Mart (details in the News in Brief section) which for him signals the beginning of Christmas.

When it comes to the day itself he says: ’We used to be getting ready for lambing our Suffolks inside at this time of year, but now we do it in springtime.

’We only have a few sheep and cattle to look after now so Christmas Day is a lot easier.

’We’re very lucky that three of our daughters, Stephanie, Eleanor and Rachel, and their youngsters, are all in the island so they are coming for Christmas.

’Our other daughter, Anna, is working at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital in London. She’s a doctor, training to be a consultant, working in paediatrics with very premature babies.

’My wife, Sheila, will be doing the cooking and the girls will be helping her. We always have turkey for Christmas but Manx beef for New Year.’

The beef in the Quayle household this New Year will be from one of their own Simbra crosses, a mix of Simmental and Brahman which are said to produce very special meat.

Paul Costain, in Colby, will be spending most of Christmas Day feeding cattle: his cattle are strip grazing kale at the moment so the electric fence has to be moved every day regardless of the date on the calendar.

’We’ll put a fore rib of our own beef in the oven at 7am and we’ll probably be eating it at around two o’clock when we finish,’ he says.

And many farmers will share Paul’s main Christmas wish: ’I just hope the day goes smoothly without any hitches or disasters and I don’t end up having to call the vet out,’ he says.