Compeer Financial’s Fund for Rural America, the Farm Credit cooperative’s giving program, awarded a total of $212,000 through the Agriculture Education and Classroom Equipment Grant program this year. Sixty schools in Illinois, Minnesota as well as Wisconsin located across Compeer Financial’s territory will be receiving grants. The grants will be $4,000 each, funding a variety of hands-on learning tools and also new technologies for agriculture education classrooms.
Changing Student Lives:
The lives of 12,290 students will be directly impacted through this grant program, which is intended to support agriculture education and motivate youth to further their knowledge of the agriculture industry. With this ever-changing industry comes the need for program funding, and that’s where Compeer Financial steps in.
“The agriculture industry offers a variety of career opportunities, and exposing young adults to this starts in the classroom,” said Karen Schieler, senior corporate giving specialist at Compeer Financial. “The goal of this grant program is to help develop and enhance modern, comprehensive agriculture education in schools, teaching students about its importance and limitless potential. These grants help to fuel the inspiration and exposure students receive in high schools.”
Grant Uses:
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 a variety of classes, including: animal and plant sciences, food science/chemistry, veterinary, horticulture, mechanics, forestry/wildlife, aquatics and more. Through new equipment in these classrooms, applicants say, students are provided with real-world hands-on educational experiences, industry standard equipment experience, exposure to STEM concepts and development of life-long skills.
The organizations in Wisconsin receiving grants in 2023 include:
Blair-Taylor: flood benches for the greenhouse, fertilizer injector system, and soil mixing table
Brodhead School District: bovine artificial insemination simulator
Cadott High School: food processing equipment, including grinder, juicer attachment with screens, cheese presses, maple syrup vacuum press, mixers, pasta attachments, and convection ovens
Campbellsport School District: fruit trees, fencing, and maintenance equipment for school education center
Cashton School District: swine litter processing simulator and supply packs, cow and pig ear simulation and replacement packs
Clinton Community School District: swine litter processing simulators and corn stalk model
DeForest Area School District: hydroponic system
Eleva-Strum: shade cloths, outdoor whiteboard, seating and tables including ADA accessibility for outdoor garden classroom
Gilmanton Schools: mig welder
Howards Grove School District: canine vet trainer and animal training mannikins
Lancaster High School: hand tools, portable power tools, miter saw, and subscription to online curriculum
Lodi High School: adding lights to the new greenhouse
Milwaukee Public Schools: duck barn and a chicken coop
Mineral Point High School: installation of a walk-in cooler and shelving, bins, and trays
Montello School District: livestock gates
Monticello School District: butcher beef cut models
Portage High School, Portage Community School District: vertical hydroponics systems
River Valley School District: food science supplies, including: pots, pans, bowls and mixing utensils
Sauk Prairie School District: vertical hydroponic unit and consumable supplies
School District of Wisconsin Dells: veterinary equipment, hoof trimming kit, entrance disinfectant mats, cattle panels and T-posts, calf hutches, poultry netting, feed troughs and hay mounts
Shullsburg: egg incubator, brooding pen, grow-out pen, a quail cage, and processing equipment
Tomah Area School District: garden tools, soil, seeds, hoses, watering heads, tomato cages, stock tanks, and a portable livestock scale
Waupun Area School District: swine breeder artificial inseminator simulator
