Burger lovers recruited by local farmers

Beef farmers on P.E.I. have teamed up with Island chefs to recruit burger lovers to cause of eating locally.

Fourteen restaurants are participating in the promotion, creating special burgers from Island beef and inviting diners to vote for their favourite. Chef Irwin MacKinnon hopes it gets people thinking about where their food comes from.

"It's going to make them think twice whenever they go to some of the larger places to buy their beef. Where did it come from?" said MacKinnon.

The promotion may be well timed as it appears prices for beef, which have been very low for years, may finally be recovering. The grand prize winner at the Island's Easter Beef Show earned $7.25 a pound at auction Friday, about $2 a pound more than last year.

"It's lot higher than it has been the last five years really and I think it's a great sign of the beef industry improving," said farmer Glen Jay, who raised the grand prize winner.

"It's great to see some positive things for a change."

The improvement has not come without pain in the industry.  The number of beef farmers has dropped dramatically.

"It's all based on supply and demand," said beef farmer Joanne Mutch.

"The supply is just maybe not there as much as it was in the past."

The P.E.I. Burger Love promotion will run through the month of April.