In 2018 Elliott County 4-H began the country ham program. Since Elliott County 4-H did not have a ham house a collaboration with Morgan County 4-H allowed 5 youth from Elliott County to participate. These youth learned the art and science of salt curing a ham and how to build confidence in public speaking. Each participant wrote and practiced their speeches for the 2018 Country Ham Day at the Kentucky State Fair. After over 6 months of patiently waiting for their hams to be ready, participants were able to clean their ham and prepare it for the big day. After a long day at the Kentucky State Fair, one participant from Elliott County received second place in his age division with his ham. Community organizations and stakeholders heard about the curiosity and excitement over the country ham program. In early spring Elliott County Farm Bureau gifted $2500 to the Elliott County 4-H Country Ham program to be used to built a country ham house for the next program year. The county farm bureau insurance agent also gave $500 to be used for educational materials for the program. Participants have already recruited more youth to join the program in 2019. One participant said, "Curing a country ham may have taken a long time, but the results were worth it. I didn't know this was even possible or that it could taste this good!"