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Compeer Client Services

County Fair Grants Awarded

For Immediate Release


Contact:

Nora Nolden, Communications Consultant

[email protected] or (651) 245-6804

 

Compeer Financial Awards 59 County Fair Grants

$175K Awarded for County Fair Facility Improvements in Ill., Minn. and Wis.

 

Sun Prairie, Wis., (May 6, 2021)  Compeer Financial’s Fund for Rural America, the Farm Credit cooperative’s giving program, is supporting county fairs with grants to improve facilities and experiences offered to rural communities across the Upper Midwest. 59 fairs received County Fair Facility Upgrade Grants this year, totaling $175,000. 

“We hope to support fairs in providing the best possible experience to visitors as they enjoy the years-long tradition of the local county fair,” said Karen Schieler, senior corporate giving specialist at Compeer Financial. “These grants will positively impact rural communities for years to come as they provide some needed improvements to fair facilities.”

Since the program was established in 2018, the Fund has awarded 240 County Fair Facility Upgrade Grants for a total impact of over $700,224, touching the lives of 6.9 million people. The Fund intends to offer this grant again in March 2022.  

The 59 organizations in Compeer Financial’s territory receiving support from the County Fair Facility Upgrade Grant Program include:

Illinois

Adams County Fair: replacing an I-beam in the hog building and converting the hog holding pens

Brown County Fair: roofing on the hog barn, purchasing gates for barns and painting the open barns

Carroll County Fair Association: replacing existing light bulbs with LED in the cattle, sheep, chicken, rabbit, hobby and education buildings

Exposition Gardens, Inc. Heart of Illinois Fair: repair livestock buildings and livestock judging arena

Fairbury Fair: new siding, fix roofs, and new electric in livestock buildings

Fulton County Fair and Racing Association: repairing pens in the livestock barns

Grundy County Agricultural District Fair: upgrading the horse arena perimeter fencing

Lake County Fair Association: outlets in barns and exterior lighting

LaSalle County Junior Fair Association: repairing the driveways and gravel paths, and installing hand sanitizing stations 

McHenry County Fair Association: installing gutters on Hanson Pavilion

McLean County Fair: replacing and repairing swine wash rack panels, and pens for the cattle and dairy barn

Mercer County Agricultural Society: interior painting, sub floor rebuilding, and overhead fans in the Floral Hall Building

Stark County Junior Fair Inc: purchasing new fence posts, fill sand, and grading for horse arena

Woodford County Farm Bureau: new roofs on livestock barns, and new fence and electricity for outdoor arena 

Minnesota

Aitkin County Ag Society: concrete in the horse barn

Anoka County Fair: fans for the livestock show arena and horse barn

Blue Earth County Fair Association: upgrading the signage on all of the agricultural buildings, and purchasing paint for all the buildings and the horse arena

Cass County Agricultural Association: paint, building supplies, white boards and pedal tractors for the Kids Barnyard, and paint and updates in the open class exhibit building, and purchase new gates for the goat barn

Cottonwood County Agricultural Society: installing an audio system throughout the fairgrounds

Dakota County Agricultural Society: adding ventilation in the 4-H building

Dodge County Ag & Mechanical Society: replacing lighting with high efficient LED lighting, and electrical work in both the FFA-rabbit-poultry barn and the horse barn

Fillmore County Fair Board: restroom and shower renovations in the rabbit and poultry barn

Goodhue County Fair: improving ventilation in the 4-H Building

Houston County Agricultural Society : 4-H building roof repairs

Isanti County Ag Society: remodeling existing horse barn to a miniature horse barn

Jackson County Fair: painting, cleaning, and updating restrooms in 4-H and FFA building

Martin County Fair: completing an addition to the swine barn

Mille Lacs County Agricultural Society/Fair Board: purchasing materials to upgrade the exterior of the 4-H food stand

Morrison County Agricultural Society Little Falls: removing and recycling existing lamps and ballasts, furnish, install and wire new LED lamps in 4-H food buildings

Nicollet County Ag Society: painting, plumbing and roofing on swine building and judging arena

Pine County Agricultural Society: improvements to open class and commercial exhibit buildings

Rock County Ag Society: replacing doors on the livestock show arena and remodel to the Swine barn

Sibley County Fair: replacing goat pen fronts

St. Louis County Agricultural Fair Association: roof repairs on exhibit buildings

Stearns County Fair Association: renovating the restrooms in the livestock arena

Steele County Free Fair: purchasing gating to change over the pens in the goat-sheep barn

Waseca County Free Fair: replacing the concrete in one of the barns

Washington County Agricultural Society: restroom updates

Winona County Fair: upgrading the restroom facilities in the livestock show arena and creating a shade tent over the livestock wash area - staging area

Wisconsin

Alto Fair: resurfacing the exhibitor area

Bayfield County Fair: repairing and replacing the roof on the dairy barn

Burnett County Agricultural Society Fair: repairing and upgrading the announcers stand at the horse arena, and upgrading entrances to the main exhibit building

Columbia County Fair Association: purchasing and installing a legal for trade scale for livestock

Dodge County Fair Association: upgrading lighting in all of the livestock barns and roof repairs

Grant County Fair: purchasing industrial size ceiling fans for the livestock barn

Juneau County Agricultural Industrial Recreational Society: completing concrete flooring in the dairy pavilion

Kenosha County Fair Association: concrete pad, moving and interior remodel of grain bin in the discovery barnyard area

Lodi Agricultural Fair: handicap accessible ramp and landings, and a cement pad for benches

Marquette County Youth Organization Association: purchasing fill gravel to relevel the floor and lumber to rebuild the stalls in the barn

Monroe County Agricultural Society: a building for the new scales

Ozaukee County Fair: purchasing and installing new 4-H school art display cases, and expanding fence opening

Racine County Ag Society: improving the lighting in the beef barn and show arena, and improving the walkway gates in the swine barns

Rock County 4-H Fair: replacing the doors and purchasing fans for the rabbit barn

Sauk County Agricultural Society, Inc: repairing the siding and painting the junior fair building

Sheboygan County Fair Association: remodeling restrooms

St. Croix County Fair, Inc.: updating the judging arena and improvements to the outdoor area for livestock waste

Stoughton Fair: sandblasting and repainting pens, and concrete in the pig barn

Vernon County Fair: replacing underground water line

Washington County Fair: replacing shades on the structures in our agricultural complex

 

For more information about the Country Fair Facility Upgrade Program, visit compeer.com/giving-back.

 

About the Fund for Rural America
 
The Compeer Financial Fund for Rural America is the corporate giving program of Compeer Financial, structured to support Compeer Financial’s mission to enrich agriculture and rural America. Compeer Financial’s Board of Directors has dedicated one percent of annual net earnings to support the Fund’s focus areas of agricultural advocacy and development, agriculture education, cooperative initiatives, rural development and community enrichment; and youth engagement. The Fund is managed by a Board of Trustees, made up of team members from Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin and members of the Compeer Financial Board of Directors. More information about opportunities available through the Fund can be found at Compeer.com/giving-back.

About Compeer Financial

Compeer Financial is a member-owned Farm Credit cooperative serving and supporting agriculture and rural communities. The $24.9 billion organization provides loans, leases, risk management and other financial services throughout 144 counties in Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Based in the Upper Midwest, Compeer Financial exists to champion the hopes and dreams of rural America, while providing personalized service and expertise to clients and the agriculture industry.

Compeer Financial is the third largest cooperative of the Farm Credit System, a nationwide network of lending institutions supporting agriculture and rural communities with reliable, consistent credit and financial services. Learn more about Compeer Financial.

 

 

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