P.E.I. cattle industry feeling the Burger Love

It's no joke, but Burger Love is kicking off April 1.

The month-long campaign promotes Island beef at restaurants across the province. All of the burgers feature beef raised on P.E.I.

The campaign is designed to promote Island beef, with all the burgers featuring beef raised on P.E.I.

Last year, 92,000 burgers were sold at restaurants participating in Burger Love.

The executive director of the Cattle Producers Association of P.E.I. says the campaign is a great opportunity for the industry to showcase its product and encourage people to eat local beef throughout the year.

Rinnie Bradley says people in the industry are feeling bullish about its future. This is a welcome relief after the mad cow disease crisis that began in 2003 and resulted in borders being closed to Canadian cattle and beef because of disease fears.

"We are hearing of some new entrants into the industry and that's wonderful, but especially for the ones that have stuck it out for the last 10 years," said Bradley.

She says beef prices are good and sometimes this provides good timing for producers looking to get out of the industry.

"But we certainly hope that most will stay in the industry and continue on and perhaps to expand," said Bradley.

She says with federal and provincial elections coming up, the industry is hoping governments will be willing to help producers who want to expand. She says Atlantic Beef Products is looking for more animals to process.