The Kentucky 4-H Country Ham Project allows young people to learn about value-added projects that focus’ on the food preservation process and the history of country hams. In addition, youth also develop their public speaking skills by presenting a speech about hams. We have seen growth this last year, with 971 participants from 80 counties participating. 

The Country Ham Project concluded at the Kentucky State Fair, where 4-Hers gave speeches before judges and their hams were judged.    

This value-added project has allowed youth to learn about the process, history, and science of curing hams.  This also briefly covers issues such as food safety, meat production, basic chemistry principles, and food preservation. In addition, youth also develop their public speaking skills by presenting a speech about hams.  We built our own curing house at the Extension Office four years ago. This has allowed us to process the hams onsite. This last year, I offered the project to 18 adults who are currently working on their hams. These diverse groups of adults come from various backgrounds and have little knowledge about Country Hams' science. I anticipate many of the adults will start curing hams on their own.