Details for 2007

All Hog & Ham participants will be coming to Gainesville beginning Tuesday, June 26 for the harvesting portion of the project. All hogs will be harvested at the Meat Lab adjacent to the Animal Sciences Building on Shealy Drive, off of SW 16th Avenue. All participants should plan to arrive between 9:00 - 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, June 26th. The final weight of the hogs does not need to be measured in the county. Participants should wear appropriate clothes for working in the Meat Lab and expect to get them dirty. Hard hats will be provided for the participants, but others entering the Meat Lab must bring head cover or wear a supplied hair net.

Participants should also bring their Retail Audits to harvesting for review. The youth will receive feedback take the Audits home for revisions before they are due later with the record books.

Cutting and wrapping days are June 27th and 28th. All participants should be in room 156 of the Animal Sciences Building by 8:00 a.m. on their respective days. Please remember to bring warm clothes for working in the 40 degree coolers on the cutting day. Even the classroom will be cooled to 68 degrees for cutting and wrapping. Also, you will want to bring a 48 quart cooler to take home two loins and two boston butts for each hog.

Hog & Ham Dress Codes

There are strict procedures with the U.S.D.A. inspection system for meat processing plants. Even though we are an educational facility, we still fall under these stringent regulations. Furthermore, we whole heartily believe that these rules will help ensure the consumer of safer foods.

Following is the dress code and procedures that must be followed by participants as well as advisors, parents, and leaders:

1. Hard hats, hair nets, shirts with sleeves, closed toe shoes, and long pants will be worn by participants in all processing areas. No bump caps or cloth caps are allowed. Clothing and shoes must be clean.

2. Parents, leaders, and those observing participants fabricate carcasses and process cuts will not be required to wear hard hats, but all other dress requirements will need to be met.

3. Hair nets will be worn if hair is collar length or longer.

4. No jewelry will be allowed in processing areas. This includes rings, ear rings, and necklaces.

5. No food, gum, drinks, or tobacco products will be allowed in the Meat Processing Center.

6. Glass items will not be brought into processing areas.

7. Hands will be washed with antimicrobial soap before entering the processing area.

8. Since the carcasses are not processed under normal HACCP regulations, the meat will be labeled "not for sale".