Crowd pitches in to help Smithfield girl raise $27K for new barn at fairgrounds
The decision that sparked a frenzy of charitable bidding at the Fayette County Fair had a simple rationale behind it.
“I just wanted to help out,” said Harper Diamond.
Diamond, 9, of Smithfield, accomplished that and more.
At Friday night’s livestock sale, she slipped a note to the announcer before showing her 270-pound pig, Cookie: All proceeds from the sale were going to the construction of the Fayette County Fair’s new small livestock barn.
The bidding went up accordingly. A normal auction might bring in around $6 a pound. The buyer of Harper’s paid $42. Then, people in the audience got involved.
“Once they heard about it in the crowd, they just started joining in, and being like, ‘I’ll add $1 to a pound,’ ‘I’ll add $2, $3, $4, $5 a pound.’ Now it’s up to $96 a pound,” said her father, C.J. Diamond.
Harper’s sale price of $13,000, already astronomical, more than doubled, reaching over $27,000.
“I feel good that everyone’s happy about how much money we raised,” Harper said.
The old livestock barn is being torn down next Monday, with the new one slated to be up in the spring of 2026.
The pens in the old barn, close to 60 years old, had been a tight fit for the pigs, Harper said.
“We’re hoping for this barn, that all the pens are going to have a little bit more room for the pigs to move around in,” she said.
Harper will be using it for the next eight years — and eventually her younger brother, and younger sister after that.
“And then she has two younger cousins that are on the farm with her every day,” C.J. said. “She’s looking out for them and the future generations to come. I’m extremely proud of her, being that selfless, to think of others before ourselves.”
To help donate to build the new barn, go to https://tinyurl.com/ytmktrbj.