Once upon a time there were little pigs all over the South. They grew up on just about every family farm in every rural community, feeding the families and stocking coolers in general stores nearby, providing not only food for the table, but lard for cooking and the main ingredient for lye soap.

After World War II, when many small farmers went to work in factories, they were forced to reduce not only their crop production, but their livestock, as well. As progress moved in one direction, another tradition of farm life began to disappear from the Southern landscape.

For the next few decades, hogs were produced by large farming cooperatives. However, with the renewed focus on the Buy Fresh, Buy Local campaign, Farm Festivals, Farm to Fork dinners and Farmers Markets like Festhalle, there comes an exciting grassroots, “hooves on the ground” movement designed to bring together the chefs, restaurateurs, thinkers, writers and entrepreneurs who gather to invest their combined synergy to forge stronger agricultural communities through collaboration with local farmers.

The Fatback Pig Project is the brainchild of Nick Pihakis, owner and co-founder of Jim ’n Nick’s Barbecue, which has grown from its flagship location in Birmingham to include 33 restaurants in seven states, including the one recently opened in Cullman.

At one point, Pihakis and a friend spent a week driving around rural areas in Alabama and Mississippi, looking for farmers who grew hogs. They found none … and it set them to wondering why there wasn’t anyone here raising these animals which play such an important part in signature Southern food — barbecue.

While discussing a barbecue competition, Pihakis and others who are concerned about bringing back this mom-and-pop industry, came together to form a unique, dynamic collective. They have broken away from the previous way of cooking and buying bulk produce and are paving the way for a project that is actually old — it’s the way grandparents farmed and raised livestock. As a result, they are also helping to build communities, supporting farmers, artisans and saving heritage breed livestock, so that this way of life, this food, can continue, prosper and be even better.

Pihakis brought on board his friends in the food industry — some of the South’s most renowned chefs, including Louisiana Chef Donald Link, owner of Herbsaint (listed as one of the Top 50 Restaurants in America by Gourmet Magazine) and Cochon (named one of the Top Three restaurants that Count by The New York Times) and John Currance, owner of City Grocery Restaurant Group (often referred to as the fine dining epicenter of Oxford, Mississippi, and winner of the 2009 James Beard Award for Best Southern Chef).

With a profound respect for farmers, the group is intent on bringing back this family tradition. They set guidelines and chose farmers who adhere strictly to them. The program requires that participating farmers be certified by the Global Animal Partnership (GAP), a nonprofit charitable organization founded in 2008, which brings together farmers, scientists, ranchers, retailers and animal advocates with a common goal of improving the welfare of animals in agriculture. GAP standards require that animals be raised according to certain guidelines. These guidelines can be found at www.globalanimalpartnership.org.

For one thing, the group mandates that the animals have to be raised naturally, humanely treated, and processed as closely to the source where they will be used as possible. Local processing is done at an abattoir managed by the Fatback Collective in Eva, Alabama.  

Plant manager, Raymond Kimbrel, says that the project has been a success. “We employ 20 people,” said Kimbrel. “We ship our product to Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia and Florida. We are providers of bacon, sausage, ham and other pork products.

“We will be taking part in the upcoming Farm to Fork Dinner in order to promote the pork industry in Alabama,” said Kimbrel.

The Fatback Pig Project will provide one-hundred pounds of natural pork shoulder and 60 pounds of boneless pork loin for the Cullman Chamber of Commerce Farm to Fork Dinner, which will be held at Wallace State Community Center on August 16. By showcasing locally grown foods the Farm to Fork Dinner offers guests an entire meal grown right here in Cullman County.

“The farmers who grow animals for us are micro-growers, mom-and-pop operations, with small farms. They keep them for nine months, at which time we offer them premium prices to buy their livestock,” explained Kimbrel.

“We are actively seeking growers at this time,” he continued. “An example of what a GAP certified farmer could realize from this project would look something like this: One farmer with ten sows birthing (conservatively) six piglets each, equals 60 piglets. At a top weight of 300 pounds each, those piglets, when nine months old, would total 18,000 pounds of pork. At the premium price of $1.40, the company buys the hogs from the farmer. The gross profit is for the farmer is $25,000.”

Programs such as the Fatback Pig Project encourage small farmers to become involved in this movement to bring back the family farm swine industry, which had almost disappeared. The selected breeds, Duroc, Berkshire, Yorkshire, and Mangalitsa, are selected for certain qualities that breeders want to preserve and expand on family farms. These criteria include good mothering instincts, cold hardiness, tenderness, flavor and fat-marbling associated with these heirloom breeds.

Pihakis and the Fatback Pig Collective are dedicated to reintroducing the idea of sustainability and quality to the restaurant owners who have joined him in developing a network of small farmers who also want to be a part of breeding heritage hogs and putting people to work.  

“We are helping to revive an industry that was once an integral part of our Southern identity,” Kimbrel said.

Anyone who is interested in becoming part of the Fatback Pig Project should contact Kimbrel at 256-293-4667, or email raymond@fatbackpig.com or Beth Kibler at 205-789-5582 or bkibler@jimnnicks.com.

The 2014 Farm To Fork Dinner will be from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, August 16, at the Wallace State Community College School of Nursing and Center for Science Conference Center. Tables of 6 and 8 are available for reservation, as well as individual tickets for $50 each. This year’s chef will be Mauricio Papapietro of Brick and Tin Restaurant in Mountain Brook, with entertainment by Morrow and Laura Doss.

For more information regarding the Farm To Fork Dinner, contact the Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce at 256-734-0454 or email Jackie Moore at jmoore@cullmanchamber.org. You can also visit the website at www.farmyall.com.