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What's A Champion Country Ham Worth These Days?

Courtesy Kentucky Farm Bureau

A 21-pound grand champion ham was auctioned off Thursday morning in Louisville for $325,000, part of a tradition that goes back 53 years.

Some 1,600 attendees — including Gov. Matt Bevin and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell — sat down for the 54th Annual Kentucky Farm Bureau Country Ham Breakfast at the Kentucky State Fair.

Following the breakfast, a country ham was auctioned off to the highest bidder, with proceeds going to a chosen charity. The winning bid for this year's ham, produced by Broadbent B&B Foods of Kuttawa, Kentucky, came from Central Bank.

Officials from Central Bank said they would donate proceeds from the winning bid to the Gatton College of Business and Economics at the University of Kentucky, University of Kentucky Athletics, the University of Kentucky Hospital, and the Garvice Kincaid Scholarship Foundation.

Compared with previous auctions, this year's winning bid was relatively low — the lowest since 2012. That year, the winning bid was $320,535.

Since the inaugural Kentucky Farm Bureau Country Ham Breakfast in 1964, the event has raised more than $10 million for local charities and nonprofits, according to a news release.