Twenty-one Illinois Schools Receive Funding to Support Agricultural Education

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Laudan Fenster, Public Relations Strategist
[email protected] or (952) 900-1751

Twenty-one Illinois Schools Receive Funding to Support Agricultural Education

Compeer Financial fueling the next generation of agricultural leaders

SUN PRAIRIE, Wis., Sept. 23, 2026 – More than 20 Illinois middle and high schools received $137,487 in grants from Compeer Financial to support agriculture education programs. The Next A.C.R.E. grant, part of the Compeer Giving program, awarded up to $7,500 to each recipient school for a total of $446,318 across schools in Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Funds are used for equipment and resources that advance hands-on learning and support renovations, improvements and building projects for non-traditional classrooms, such as greenhouses, shops and livestock barns. 

Through the Next A.C.R.E. grant, Compeer Financial aims to uplift agriculture programs in secondary schools, where they have been making an impact since 1832 when the Boston Asylum and Farm School was established. Over the past couple of decades, though, ag education has faced challenges that include lack of qualified instructors, unfilled positions, low enrollment and lack of funding. These and other factors have resulted in programs not keeping pace with technology advancements and even some programs being cut. 

“With the Next A.C.R.E. grant, Compeer Financial intends to help ag education programs keep pace with today’s rapidly evolving agricultural landscape and give students the opportunity to elevate their agricultural knowledge and skills,” said Karen Schieler, manager of Compeer Giving at Compeer Financial. “Advancements in technology across ag sectors make it important to provide middle and high school students with equipment and resources that accurately represent the opportunities available within an industry that feeds, fuels and clothes us all. We hope this funding inspires students to pursue a career in agriculture where they can make a lasting impact on their local communities and the world.”

Grant recipients intend to use the funds across both traditional agricultural skills and emerging technologies to support a broad range of ag and career-focused education. In their applications, they emphasized hands-on, experiential learning that gives students opportunities to work with animals, grow, build, repair, test and fabricate. Several schools intend to use the funding to adopt advanced technology and simulation, including virtual welding, CNC plasma, precision-ag sensors and veterinary/livestock simulators.

To qualify for a Next A.C.R.E. grant, applicants must offer agriculture education classes at a middle or high school within Compeer Financial’s 144-county territory. Compeer Financial will again offer the grant in 2027. 

The 21 Illinois school programs receiving a Next A.C.R.E. grant in 2026 include:

• Abingdon-Avon High School: An instructional greenhouse with heating, cooling, irrigation, environmental controls.
• Brown County High School: An aquaponics system.
• Clifton Central High School: Greenhouse repairs.
• Dakota CUSD 201: Livestock training models, animal health tools, livestock identification technology, feed and nutrition equipment, animal evaluation resources.
• Eureka High School: Tractor engine overhaul and restoration.
• Herscher High School: Electrical wiring and trailer circuits, STEM kits, greenhouse plant plugs.
• Lexington CUSD #7: A virtual welding simulator.
• Midwest Central High School: Stainless-steel workbenches, small engines, hand tools.
• Rich Township High School District 227: An animal health trainer, urban growing equipment, a color printer, heat press.
• Ridgeview C.U.S.D. #19: Greenhouse benches, propagation supplies.
• River Ridge High School: Welders, welding contact tips, wire.
• Rock Falls High School: Fishing lure molds, soil test kits, plant propagation supplies, scales, beakers, measuring cups, dehydrators.
• Sherrard CUSD #200: A laser engraving and cutting system, conveyor, rotary tool, air purifier.
• Somonauk High School: A remote-controlled tractor pull challenge, trailer circuits, STEM kit, small engine model kits.
• Southeastern High School: Ag mechanics and technology shop tools and equipment.
• Southside Occupational Academy High School: Chicken coop roof and weatherization improvements, outdoor chicken-care equipment.
• Sycamore High School: Ethanol vapor sensors, load sensors, wind experiment kits, food dehydrator, ultrasonic cleaner, veterinary kits, power saws.
• Tremont High School: Greenhouse ventilation and airflow equipment, including exhaust fans, shutters, circulation fans.
• Trinity Academy: MIG welder, welding helmets and protective equipment, welding table, fabrication tools, veterinary science models, soil-testing equipment.
• Tri-Valley Middle School: LED grow lights, planting trays, grow-light stands.
• Wethersfield Jr./Sr. High School: A school greenhouse with heating, ventilation, irrigation, staging tables.

About Compeer Giving

Compeer Giving is Compeer Financial’s robust corporate giving program, focused on philanthropic support for agriculture and rural communities across the upper Midwest. Since 2018, Compeer has distributed nearly $40 million – enhancing agriculture education and workforce, inspiring youth, empowering farmers, nurturing rural communities and equipping rural first responders. The Compeer Giving Board of Trustees is committed to creating a positive impact and supporting the vision for creating a world where agriculture and rural communities are dynamic, collaborative and thriving. More information about Compeer Giving 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 $36.1 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’s patronage program.

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