History Repeats Itself: Ham and Egg Show hones in on roots

Published 6:00 pm Tuesday, February 19, 2019

VALDOSTA — The Ham and Egg Show carries on a historical tradition.

For decades, the Ham and Egg Show has showcased products from local farmers and has educated the community about the care of chickens and the curing of hams, according to organizers.

“There was no place for African-American farmers to be a part of the agricultural community,” said Velma Miles, chairman of the Lowndes County Improvement Association.

She said a county agent from Fort Valley State University decided to include Lowndes County in a show that was being hosted across Georgia.

“The agent just wanted farmers to learn about new trends in agriculture or new trends in caring for the meat,” Miles said.

The association continued the education Tuesday morning with a presentation held by Dr. Claudia Dunkley of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Dunkley spoke about the care for both poultry and eggs to community members.

Organizers have also kept a piece of tradition by using sugar-cured, salt-cured ham as opposed to the quick-cured ham used last year in the show.

“We’re just kind of glad to be back to that original ham,” Miles said.

The decision to change back to the ham that was used nearly 70 years ago lies within the quality of the quick-cured ham. The quality was unexpected, she said.

“It tastes good, but it just wasn’t the taste of the Southern heritage ham from that home sugar-cured process,” Miles said.

The Georgia Department of Agriculture candled at least 50 dozen eggs Tuesday in preparation for a live auction.

Bill Jones, compliance specialist for the Georgia Department of Agriculture, has candled eggs for more than 30 years.

Jones said candling an egg focuses on the egg’s shell quality, finding blood spots, looking at its inner-cell membrane and locating any abnormalities.

This is done by holding the egg up to a particular light to see inside.

“When you’ve got a nice, good A-grade egg, you’ll look in there – and the light comes through it –  and you won’t see anything, anything particularly that stands out,” he said. “It’ll just (look) smooth and uniform.”

Hayley Pitts, compliance specialist for the GDA, described blood spots in an egg as being a black shadow that comes across the egg.

“There is a certain aggregate mass that makes it a B grade and then others that are losses,” she said. “Really what we do is if it’s bloody white, then it’s a loss. It’s not desirable.”

The GDA continues to participate with the Ham and Egg Show because it’s good community outreach, according to department members.

The department will teach an egg-candling class 10 a.m.-3 p.m., March 12, at the civic center to help community members legally sell their homegrown eggs.

The auction is scheduled for noon Wednesday, Feb. 20, at the Lowndes County Civic Center.

Amanda M. Usher is a reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times. She can be contacted at 229-244-3400 ext.1274.