$242K Awarded in Ag Classroom Grants
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Nora Nolden, Senior Communications Consultant
[email protected] or (651) 245-6804
Compeer Financial Awards 65 Grants to Ag Classrooms
$242K granted to schools to further agricultural education
Sun Prairie, Wis., (June 3, 2024) – Compeer Financial’s Fund for Rural America, the Farm Credit cooperative’s giving program, just awarded $242,581 to schools through its Agriculture Education and Classroom Equipment Grant program. Sixty-five schools in Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin within Compeer Financial’s territory will receive grants of up to $4,000 each, funding various hands-on learning tools and new technologies for agriculture education classrooms.
The lives of 9,720 students will be directly impacted by this grant program, which aims to support agriculture education and inspire youth to further their knowledge of the agriculture industry.
“This set of grants marks nearly $1.3 million the Fund for Rural America has provided to schools, giving students a firsthand experience with agriculture and exploring potential careers,” said Karen Schieler, senior corporate giving specialist at Compeer Financial. “The Agriculture Education and Classroom Equipment Grant helps educators purchase supplies needed for their curriculum and provides students real-world learning experiences.”
Middle school and high school agriculture departments throughout Compeer’s 144-county territory were eligible to apply for an Agriculture Education and Classroom Equipment grant. The grant funds will be used across various classes, including animal and plant sciences, food science/chemistry, veterinary, horticulture, mechanics, forestry/wildlife, aquatics and more.
The school programs receiving grants in 2024 include:
ILLINOIS
Amboy High School: welding machine and cart
Bureau Valley CUSD #340: wean to finish gates
Bushnell-Prairie City High School: new drone
Crete Monee High School: scenario card sets, horticulture and floriculture ID card sets, real career electrical wiring kit, products and processing complete curriculum, poultry operation curriculum and mastitis kits
Dixon High School District #170: beakers, graduated cylinders, microscopic slides and covers, test tubes and racks, safety glasses, heat proof glasses, charging stations, pH probes, nutrient stains, soil tests, temperature probe, wire cutters, shear sets, animal models, test tube brushes, buckets, floral wire paddles, student handbook and manuals and animal restraint tools
Gary Comer Youth Center: materials for larger chicken and quail coops, feed and storage
Geneseo Community Unit School District #228: electric sanders, compound microscopes, beakers and graduated cylinders, antiseptic kit, feline spay kits, dissection kits, vet science teaching kits, tagging pliers, ear notchers, tattoo outfit, suture kits, bone anatomy slides, bone dissection anatomy kit, muscle tissue slides, fecal and worm egg count, vet tool and equipment ID cards, forestry science curriculum
Grundy Area Vocational Center: suture kits, hydroponics grow tower and swine litter processing simulator
Illini Bluffs High School: power tool sets, horticulture plant stakes and flags, plug and seed trays, sheet metal and lumber
John Marshall Metropolitan High School: raised beds for farm space
La Moille CUSD #303: landscape equipment, microscopes and slides, safety glasses and cabinet workbenches
Lena-Winslow CUSD #202: multi-process welders
Manteno Community Unit District #5: tool sets for each engine toolbox, scroll saw, band saw, welding helmets, electrical tools and equipment, greenhouse tables and supplies, drip system, hand cart, suture kits, microscopes and cell models
Mercer County High School: computers to run CADD software
Midland High School: germination chamber
Newark Ag Department: greenhouse irrigation system
Oregon Junior/Senior High School: LabQuest3 Interface, Lab-Aids AFNR set, conductivity sensor, energy sensor and solar panel
Orion High School: germination chamber
Riverbend School District: compost bins, soil, gravel, polycarbonate greenhouse, greenhouse grow lights, greenhouse shelves, seed starting plug flats and pots
Seneca Township High School: swine breeder artificial insemination simulator
Sterling High School: parallel clamp set, bench-top router table and accessories, bench-top jointer, desktop CNC router machine and accessories, silk flowers and greenery and corsage boxes
Western High School: table saw, band saw and router
MINNESOTA
Alden-Conger Public School: compact scales, magnifiers, binocular and LCD digital microscopes, soil test kits, plant anatomy slide sets, printer, injection pads and dog veterinary science kit
Blooming Prairie Public Schools ISD #756: engines and tools for implementing a small engines class
Browerville Public School: meat saw, vacuum sealer, bags, blades, knives, cutting boards and meat products for a meat cutting class
Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart: advanced sanitary CPR dog, feline training mannequin and suture kits
Caledonia Area Public Schools ISD #299: power and hand tools for welding, engines, electrical and woods classes
Kenyon-Wanamingo School District: drill driver, impact wrench, cordless grinder, ice fishing pole building kit, electric greenhouse heaters, greenhouse storage cabinet, planting trays and supplies
Kingsland Public Schools: a new welder
Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial High School: industry tools including drills and drivers, reciprocating saw, hammer drill, torque wrench, timing light, sanders, paint sprayers, sanding blocks and drum sander
Little Falls Community Schools: a set of classroom microscopes, hot plate with stirrers, a water bath and laboratory incubator
Maple River Schools: new welders and consumables
Northfield High School: Trout in the Classroom project kit with chiller, aquarium and off-site experiences
New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva High School: cat and dog models and a feline vet trainer
Pine Island High School: overhead watering and drip irrigation system for the greenhouse, tables, rolling bench, display tables, wagon, aquaponics tools, potting soil and plant starting basics
Randolph ISD #195: temperature probe pack, CASE Introduction to Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources Materials Package Kit, laboratory starter kits, core rod building start-up kits, hot plates and electronic balances
Red Wing High School: greenhouse irrigation system and components, lighting fixtures, ends and repair materials and start up materials
Royalton High School: stainless steel refrigerator/freezer and prep tables
Sleepy Eye Public School: impact driver bits, cordless impact tools, orbital sanders, welding pliers, locking pliers sets, wire stripes, screwdriver sets, measuring tape sets, mandolins, blenders, pots and pans, food processors, griddles, waffle makers and an air fryer
SouthWest Metro #288: new drones, software subscription and supplies
St. James Public School District #840: building and creating walls with electrical, plumbing, dry wall and hardware for new basic home repair program
St. Charles Public Schools: vertical hydroponics plant tower
WISCONSIN
Ashland High School: technology to improve student research and data collection abilities in aquaponics
Barron High School: greenhouse benches and grow carts, animal lab equipment and portable livestock scale
Beaver Dam Unified School District: landscaping hand tools, saws, clippers, rakes, shovels, mallets, wheelbarrows, pruners and transit, fishing rod classroom kits and lure making set
Boscobel Area Schools: multiprocessing welder with cart and metal cutting bandsaw
Bruce Public School: greenhouse germination mat, fertilization injector and automated watering components
Craig High School: learning lab kits for dogs, rabbits and goats
Dodgeland High School: bovine breeder artificial insemination simulator
Flambeau School District: welding helmets, gloves, safety glasses and welder
Highland Community School District: welders with carts
Ithaca Middle and High School: a professional quail hatch kit and materials for a portable outdoor coop
Jefferson High School: an aquaponics system
La Crosse Central and Logan High School: grow towers and supplies to begin a plant science greenhouse class
La Farge School District: livestock scale and maple syrup evaporator
Lomira High School: poultry house, feeders, waterers and containers for products to establish a poultry enterprise for egg and meat bird production
Melrose-Mindoro High School: stainless steel tables, grinder, sausage stuffer, canners, plastic table covers, heating sources, cooler and knives for new food processing and preservation class
Mondovi School District: hydroponics system and taxidermy equipment
Osseo-Fairchild School District: swine litter processing simulator, automated irrigation system and piping, lab burners, support stands, rings and flasks
Parkview School District: egg incubator, heated chick brooder, water and feeders, chicken cage and chicken coop for setting up a poultry project
Platteville High School: lab supplies and equipment
School District of New Lisbon: swine breed simulator
Spring Valley High School: greenhouse grow lights, extending the size of the school garden, adding garden boxes and gravel between the boxes
St. Croix Central High School: industry-based lab equipment
Watertown Unified School District: bovine breeder artificial insemination simulator
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 $32.3 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.
-30-