Although there are now very few farms in West Wales that produce oven-ready poultry for the Christmas table, those that remain have to meet the highest standards of welfare and food hygiene.

Producing turkeys was not one of the original intentions of Tegwen and Mary Davies when they moved to Caeremlyn Farm, near Whitland, in 1961.

They both shared the aim of building up a herd of top quality, high producing Holstein Friesian milkers, which would provide for them and their family a realistic income.

They also enjoyed a highly successful period exhibiting the superb animals at summer shows, but gave this up in 1984 because it was too time consuming.

Mary was no stranger to dealing with poultry for, as a youngster, she had helped her mother to look after the turkeys on their family farm near Bancyfelin, which were reared to supply a steady local demand from friends and the trade.

It was, however, when her mother decided to give up the poultry business that Mary was persuaded to continue to set-up her own unit to supply the well established customer base.

"It will be like an extra milk cheque for you!" she was told.

Initially, the numbers produced remained modest, but developed to 3,500 as the demand continued to increase.

She says: "We always stayed faithful to the traditional ways with what is essentially a game bird, and really cared for our turkeys.

"It is only by rearing them to full maturity, dry plucking and then hanging that you get the proper texture and flavour into the meat - it is a different product altogether to a 'supermarket' turkey."

With almost 40 years experience in meeting the requirements of the Christmas trade from a small family run business it should not come as a surprise that the Davies' are still current holders of the 'Tastiest Turkey in Britain' award, sponsored jointly by BOCM Pauls, the National Farmers Union and ADAS.

Judged by Orlando Murrin, Editor, of the BBC Good Food magazine, it was he who insisted that the Caeremlyn turkey was the one he would most like to see on his Christmas table, as it was "moist, succulent and full of flavour.".

"After winning the award at only our second attempt, after being runner up the previous year, it was a great bonus and has really put our turkeys on the map," added Mary.

"Since then we have developed mail order and an on-line ordering service on our website, together with the sale of Christmas hampers to include our own turkey and locally produced plum puddings, mince pies, cheese and wine, which allows distribution to all parts of the United Kingdom."

In fact their order books for 2,200 birds has been full since the end of October.

There is no single factor that makes these turkeys so special- every aspect of the production method combines to deliver the old-fashioned taste and flavour, just specially bred for their traditional flavour, fed on high quality natural feeds and tended by caring farmers who ensure the highest welfare conditions.

Even with a substantial investment in providing for the needs of their poultry enterprises Mary and Tegwyn, who now own 550 acres and keep 270 milking cows and 400 followers still retain their original focus on the core business of dairy farming, but the 'extra milk cheque' is always useful.