With producer transparency on trend, the story behind the feast on the Christmas table is becoming just as important as the temperature of the oven on Christmas Day.
Christmas is one of the busiest times for primary producers who supply the Christmas lunch table, like turkey breeder Daryl Deutscher.
"It just gets phrenetic at Christmas; we are busy all year but it just gets ridiculous running into November and December," Mr Deutscher said.
"A lot of people get up and start cooking their turkey on Christmas morning come hell or high water, whether it's 40 degrees or 14 degrees!"
Consumers want transparency
For Jo Wheaton, baking her family a traditional Christmas ham has a special meaning. Not only does it bring all her children and family together, but she can truly say she made that ham from scratch.
Jo Wheaton is a farmer from Western Victoria, and she breeds pigs, selling the ham at local markets.
Ms Wheaton said the best part of witnessing the paddock to plate transition each Christmas was knowing where the product came from.
"Its really hard when you're buying anything, but pork products are probably one of the worst as far as knowing whether it's Australian, and if it is Australian, how it was raised, how it was killed, how it was processed," Ms Wheaton said.
For Jo Wheaton, consumers demanding transparency from primary producers has given her a unique position this Christmas.
"That's actually the thing that probably has been the biggest benefit in direct selling … actually feeling part of people's families not only at Christmas but all year round," Ms Wheaton said.
Daryl Deutcher breeds rare and commercial turkeys in Western Victoria.
He slaughters all his animals at his own boutique abattoir and the meat is sold Australia-wide.
"Over probably the past five years or so there is a lot more interest from the consumer as to knowing what happens to their piece of meat or their produce that ends up on the plate," Mr Deutscher said.
The story behind your Christmas feast
The Wheatons run a free-range operation with a focus on low food miles and keeping things local.
"We are only 75km from the slaughter house and butchers, we sort of aim to sell within 200km of home for environmental reasons and for sanity reasons," Ms Wheaton said.
"Everything is done in an old-fashioned way at the butchers, with ham cooked in brine and naturally smoked.
"There is just not enough time and energy to satisfy everyone and our theory is if every community has somebody willing to do what we are doing then everybody will have a local source of produce."
Mr Deutscher uses artificial insemination to breed his turkey varieties, and the birds stay in a breeder shed for six weeks before being moved to a grower shed.
Once matured, the birds are moved out into pens on range before being selected for slaughter.
"We are able to have them [the turkeys] caught and slaughtered within an hour or two, which is a lot less stress on the birds," Mr Deutscher said.
"We [can] decapitate the bird otherwise you're supposed to stun or dislocate the neck.
"It's just quick and instant. We believe it's the best method and we do the most humane way of slaughtering our birds that is possible to do."
And who better to ask for a Christmas cooking tip than a man who has dedicated his life to the humble turkey?
"With a natural turkey, not ones that are pumped full of everything, if you are cooking it, cook it lowly and slowly," Mr Deutscher said.
"Don't overcook it, a lot of people overcook turkey and then they say it's dry, if turkey is cooked properly it's not dry.
"Keep it covered, cook it at 150 degrees low and slow."
