The country ham has been a food tradition in Kentucky for hundreds of years.  The Kentucky 4-H Country Ham Project began over twenty years ago with just forty youth.  Today some 800 youth across Kentucky cure country hams each year, ending at the Kentucky State Fair in August.  The 4-H hams are judged by KY Country Ham Producers while the 4-H members present a speech on some aspect of curing hams.  4-H participants learn about food production and how the country ham fits into Kentucky's food heritage.  

Five years ago the Simpson County Agriculture Awareness Committee, in conjunction with the Farm Service Agency & the local Farm Bureau Federation, started an Agriculture Awareness Breakfast. The objective of the breakfast is to raise awareness & educate the community about agriculture and serve a breakfast of locally grown agriculture commodities.  Four years ago 4-H approached the committee asking to start a 4-H Country Ham Auction in conjunction with the breakfast. The local Chamber of Commerce Director served as the auctioneer and a 4-H member's ham was sold for over $800, with the proceeds funding local youth to participate in the next year's ham project. 

In November 2019 two 4-H member cured hams were sold at the 5th Annual breakfast and raised over $1500 for the 4-H Country Ham Project in Simpson County.  As a result 21 youth & adults are participating, which is 43% increase over 2019, and the largest number of ham participants Simpson County's had.  Farm Credit Mid America and Coldwell Banker purchased the 4-H hams. "It is for a great cause and we are proud to support agriculture in Simpson County.  It was a great thing to do for the 4-H clubs in our community and we are glad to be able to do that, said representatives of both organizations. 

Simpson County 4-H member Cameron Huggins was the Overall Champion in her smoked ham age division at the 2019 State Fair and was the youth speaker for the breakfast. Her speech walked attendees through the steps of curing a country ham, how to store hams once cured, and how to cook country ham.  The process for curing country hams hasn't changed a lot over the years and was becoming "a lost art" among farm families. 4-H has brought the country ham to the forefront of teaching youth about food production and the role country ham has in Kentucky's food heritage. The Simpson Co. Agriculture Awareness Breakfast has raised approximately $4000 to fund over 40 local participants in the 4-H Country Ham project.