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$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.

 

 

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