Nelson County Cooperative Extension clients, youth and adult, seem to possess a strong passion for continuing traditions and learning new things.  Thirty years ago, there were several family farms and hogs were one of the largest species of livestock on those farms.  Out of necessity, those animals were often harvested and utilized in several ways to provide food for the family.  Farmers found many different ways to use the livestock as food, including but not limited to, curing the ham, using the cuts of meat, boiling every part for scrap meats in breakfast foods like scrapple.  Another way was to make sausage from the cuts of fat and meat which were not necessarily "ready to eat" cuts.  Because of this tradition and the current movement into local food systems, the Nelson County FCS Agent teamed with several individuals with sausage making and family farm living experience to provide a food processing and meat handling class focused on processing, seasoning and stuffing sausage.  

Of twenty individuals who participated in the program, eighteen indicated that they "strongly agreed" that the training objectives were clearly defined, each training objective was met: 1. Understanding and then utilizing relevant and accurate information pertaining to food safety, meat and poultry handling, and knife handling and use each to safely process ground meats, 2. Participate in a meat grinding and stuffing activity were objective one is carried through, 3. Complete a task, in this case making pork sausage, through which food and materials are handled safely, 4. Utilize herbs, spices, fat percentages, processing and cooking strategies to produce a sausage or ground meat product that meets participants' taste preferences.  Nineteen of twenty participants indicated that the training experience would be useful in their homes/lives.  

Nelson County FCS Agent has explored interest in other food processing classes including cheese making, ham curing and others.  This program is currently being developed and marketed.