Buy local. It’s a growing demand, and an eighth-generation P.E.I. hog farmer has found a way to tap into it.

Scott Dingwell launched his oneman operation, Hometown Pork, last fall at P.E.I.’s Porktoberfest. The brand signifies to consumers that the pork is produced by local farmers and meets certain standards of production and freshness.

Island food markets, butchers, chefs and restaurants quickly bought into the Hometown Pork brand. Wanting to build on that success, Dingwell pitched the idea of an Atlantic Hometown Pork brand to Loblaws. The supermarket giant loved the idea, but wanted to start it in Quebec and ensure local production, as well as guarantee a certain quality of colour and marbling of the meat. Dingwell agreed to stand behind Hometown Pork-labeled products and successfully licensed the brand to local pork producers in la belle province.

Eight generations of family experience in hog farming taught Dingwell a lot about pork production and consumers, but his volunteer stints on the Island Hog Board, the Canadian Pork Council and the Canadian Swine Health Board, among others, broadened his knowledge and exposed him to market demands from across the country.

He says today’s pork consumers want to know two things – where their meat comes from, and what’s in it, or more accurately, what’s not in it. “Tell me it’s antibiotic–free, tell me that it was raised without GMOs,” Dingwell quotes consumers.

The Hometown Pork identifier alleviates consumers’ concerns and guarantees quality, increasing sales and income for local producers.

“It’s really about bringing valueadded or niche opportunities to farmers in the traditional supply chain,” Dingwell says.

And that’s a significant benefit to the farming industry in a province where, in the last decade, the number of hog farmers has dropped from 400 to about a dozen and the farm debt to asset ratio has jumped 40 per cent.

By Laurie McBurney