A 16.7-pound prize-winning ham sold for an extraordinary $10 million at the Kentucky State Fair, with the proceeds going toward organizations and charitable causes across the state.
The Grand Champion Country Ham was auctioned on August 27 during the 62nd annual Kentucky Farm Bureau Country Ham Breakfast and Charity Auction. It was produced by Tim Berry of Clifty Farm Country Meats in Scottsville, Kentucky.
The winning bid was made jointly by Joe Craft, CEO of Alliance Resource Partners, his wife Kelly Craft, a former US Ambassador to the United Nations, and Central Bank. The Crafts contributed $5 million, while Central Bank helped bring the total bid to $10 million.
Around 1,600 people attended the event, where guests sampled ham from Clifty Farm Country Meats. Miss Kentucky 2026 Reagan Earlywine presented the championship ham to the crowd.
Kentucky Farm Bureau President Eddie Melton said the annual breakfast celebrates agriculture while also raising money for communities throughout the state.
This was the fifth consecutive year the Crafts and Central Bank combined their bids at the charity auction. The same partnership also paid $10 million for the winning ham in 2025.
The Crafts’ share of the proceeds will support projects including the new Guilfoil Recreation Center at the Boys & Girls Club of Glasgow-Barren County and local FFA chapters.
Central Bank’s contribution will go toward educational, medical and nonprofit organizations, including the University of Kentucky Athletics, Markey Cancer Center, the Revolving Affordable Housing Fund and the Child Advocacy Center.
The auction is part of a longstanding Kentucky tradition in which the championship ham serves as the centerpiece of a major charitable fundraiser, making its multimillion-dollar price far more about philanthropy than the ham itself.