Country Ham

The program details:

  • Youth meet once in January (usually during MLK weekend on Saturday or Monday) to learn about country hams and prepare their hams for curing and hanging.

  • End of May/early June, youth clean their hams and rehang them.

  • Tuesday before KY State Fair, youth will return to the office to clean their hams and pick out the best one to enter.

  • First Thursday of KY State Fair, youth will attend the fair and give a 3-5 minute speech in the morning and attend an awards ceremony in late afternoon. 

  • Fee $60: Youth receive 2 country hams, 2 tickets to the KY State Fair, and parking pass at fair

  • Notice: if pandemic continues through to August 2021, youth may be required to write an essay instead of presenting a speech

  • Deadline to apply: December 11, 2020

 

 

Country Ham Topic for 2022 Juniors born 2012-2008: 

City ham is the term used by Southerners to describe what the rest of the country calls ham.  The production of city hams is extremely different compared to making country hams.  4-Her’s should discuss the difference between the hams, the difference in production methods, as well as the labeling difference of city and country hams.

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Country Ham Topic for 2022 Seniors born 2003-2007:

Country hams are part of Kentucky’s food heritage.  Discuss how country hams impact Kentucky’s economy including the number of ham curers within the Commonwealth.  Moreover, discuss how the country ham is part of our food heritage and how it impacts our social gatherings.

My Experience in the Kentucky 4-H Country Ham Project

 

Speeches should be between 3-5 minutes in length

Country Ham Form