A calendar has been launched to celebrate Bermuda's farmers to promote the industry and encourage people to buy locally produced produce.

Minister of the Environment Neletha Butterfield launched the calendar at the weekend saying she found inspiration for it from a show in Jamaica.

"The calendar turned out to be more than just an agricultural promotion, it truly is a celebration of Bermuda's farmers and their 400-year tradition of working Bermuda's fertile fields."

Earlier this year, Ms Butterfield visited the Denbigh Agri-Industrial Show in Clarendon, Jamaica, where she was presented with a copy of a Farmers Calendar produced by the Jamaican Ministry of Agriculture and Lands.

"When I see a good idea in another country, I'm always willing to try it here at home.

"So when I returned to Bermuda, I asked our staff to work with the Department of Communication and Information to produce our own Farmers Calendar," she said.

At the height of Bermuda's agricultural production, about 3,000 acres were farmed, but today only about 380 acres are farmed.

"This is something the Ministry is addressing. We are encouraging Bermudians to explore farming as a career."

The calendar will be distributed free in the hope of inspiring people to support local farmers and buy their produce.

The calendars feature some of Bermuda's prominent farming families and individuals and also contain useful information on what to grow and when it should be planted, vegetable storage, conversion tables, and a planting guide.

Calenders are can be found at The Ministry of the Environment, Telecommunications and E-Commerce headquarters in the Government Administration Building, the Department of Telecommunications and E-Commerce in the Perry Building, the Department of Environmental Protection in the Botanical Gardens, the Department of Communication and Information in Global House, and at the City Market in Bull's Head Car Park on Saturday mornings, and, of course, from the featured farmers themselves.