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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