NEAR ARGYLE - The Manitoba/>/> hog industry hasn't seen a lot of good news lately, with a recent hog farm moratorium and an upcoming sow cull.

But a Manitoba/>/> pork producer is getting national attention for the success of his operation.

Ian Smith has a hog farm near Argyle, and his 'home-grown' style of business is doing quite well.

"Lots of hard work," he explained to CTV's Joe Olafson/>. "It's my own marketing -- avoiding the big guys, doing my own thing."

In an increasingly technological industry, Smith raises his pigs 'naturally'; the grown animals roam freely in a fenced area.

Smith's methods haven't changed much from generations ago. "No different that what my mom and dad were doing in the sixties," he said.

Smith says he knows all his more than 170 customers; they range from Manitoba's Lieutenant Governor to families in Winnipeg's poorest neighbourhoods. H hand delivers all his products.

"Some of my best customers used to be vegetarian," he said.

His product and production is also getting recognition in a new book about unique Canadian farmers.

Author Margaret Webb approves of the traditional way Smith runs his business.

"Ian goes back to do things properly," she said. "He raises his pork properly and you can taste the difference."

The book is called Apples to Oysters - a Food Lover's Tour of Canadian Farms, and profiles farms across the country from a sea vegetable farm in New Brunswick/>, to an Ontario/> vineyard, to a cattle farm in the Yukon/>/>.

Webb says consumers need to do more to find about the food they eat, where it comes from and how it is produced.

Webb says it's about knowing your farmer -- and the producers putting taste and nutrition back into the foods we eat.

"If you want to do bulk food, bulk stores, we're going to be bulk people - and that's already happening," she said. "If we get back in touch with good food that's healthy for us, that food is going to be better for the environment, better for us."

Margaret Webb's book is now available in stores. Ian Smith is endorsed by the Winnipeg Humane Society and was named the 2005 Humane Farmer of the Year.