The 4-H Country Ham Project has grown in LaRue County since it was started in 2014.  Twenty-six 4-Hers participated in 2018.  Participation more than doubled in just four years.  With interest in the country ham project, grant money was secured in the amount of $1000 from the Kentucky 4-H Foundation and $2500 from Agriculture Development Funds to build a ham house in LaRue County for the project participants to use.  New in 2017, all participants were required to present their ham speech at the county level for competition.  This helped them prepare and practice for their State Fair speech.  The practice paid off, as two participants placed in the top five for their age groups at the State Fair.  For many participants, the county contest was the first speech they ever presented.  An auction is held at the conclusion of the project at the annual Lincoln Days festival.  The fourth annual auction was held in October.  Over the past four years that the auction has been held, $11,700 has been raised with $9,360 going directly to the youth and $2,340 going to help with expenses for the ham project.  Eighty percent of the auction bid went back to the child and 20% went to the 4-H ham project.  Youth can use the money to pay for their project registration fee for next year.  Many participants say they put their proceeds in a college savings fund.  The LaRue County Farm Bureau Federation has given a total of $1885 over the past four years to help with country ham registration fees for participants.  One country ham participant stated, "It is interesting to learn a process that my grandparents and great-grandparents used back in their day.  My family enjoyed eating the ham I cured and I learned a lot during the whole process."