4-H Country Ham Day at the Kentucky State Fair

On the opening day of the Kentucky State Fair in 2022, 75 counties participated in Ham Day, where over 800 youth participated in giving a 3-5 minute speech on a top designed around country ham. Over 800 hams were judged by the University of Kentucky Meats Lab professor and workers. With the 4-H Country Ham Project youth are given a topic to write a speech and two green hams to cure. From January to August the youth cure, clean, and prepare their hams and speeches for the Kentucky State Fair. In Scott County youth that participate in the Country Ham Contest are required to give their speeches at the County Communication Contest. This helps prepare them for when Country Ham Day comes. One family in Scott County practiced giving their speeches every day, whether it was in front of a mirror, on the drive to school, or to their siblings. They gave their speeches several times in front of their 4-H Youth Development Agent, where in return she would time and give them advice on where they could improve. When Country Ham Day came, all the hard work finally paid off. One of the youth placed 2nd in the 10 year old division for his speech and was Champion Overall Ham in the 10 year old division. With the practice and requirements assigned for the Country Ham Contest, it shows that 4-H is creating public speakers through their programs.