April 17, 2008

Virginia’s historic pork industry now a tourist attraction

SURRY—They still make country hams in Southeast Virginia. But the hog industry has changed so much over the centuries that one of the few remaining small processors is offering tourists a chance to see how the famous hams are produced.

On May 23 Sam Edwards III of Edwards’ Virginia Hams will lead a tour of the processing plant his grandfather founded in Surry. The tour, “The Romance of Virginia Ham: History and Production,” is part of a visit to Williamsburg and Surry County attractions sponsored by the Peacock-Harper Culinary History Collection, housed at Virginia Tech’s Newman Library.

And yes, the tour includes a chance to eat Virginia ham in all its various forms. Pre-registration is required, and the deadline is April 22. Visit http://spec.lib.vt.edu/culinary for more information.

Virginia’s hog numbers peaked in 1943 at 970,000 head, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Beginning in the early 1980s, the industry transitioned to vertical integration, where the same company owns the animal from birth to slaughter and processes the final product. Today, the world’s largest pork processor and hog producing company is headquartered in Smithfield.

But while the small hog farmer is gone, the modern hog industry still has clout in Virginia. In 2007 Virginia’s hog herd had declined to 370,000 head, but hog sales still generated almost $261 million in cash receipts and were the fifth-largest livestock sector in the state. Virginia ranked 18th nationally in hog production last year.

The state’s hog industry dates back to at least 1779, when Capt. Mallory Todd is known to have sold cured hams from Smithfield. He started his business shipping dry-cured hams to the West Indies. Legend has it that Native Americans taught colonists how to cure ham more than a century before that. There’s still a Hog Island in the James River near Jamestown.

Modernization came to the industry after World War II, said Robert Felts, owner of the R.M. Packing Co. in Ivor. Before then, farmers would slaughter a hog in January and salt it down to cure while cold weather prevented spoilage.

Felts still salts and cures hams at his plant, and you can walk in and buy one right out of the bin. While doing a growing business with restaurants, he said his best sales still come during the holidays, when people want a traditional ham.

Contact Norm Hyde, VFBF video producer, at 804-290-1146.