Compeer Financial’s Fund for Rural America 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. This funds 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.
“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 also provides students real-world learning experiences.”
Middle and high school agriculture departments throughout Compeer’s 144-county territory were eligible to apply. The grant funds will be used across various classes, including animal and plant sciences, food science and chemistry, veterinary, horticulture, mechanics, forestry and wildlife, aquatics and also more.
The school programs receiving grants in Wisconsin for 2024 include:
- 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
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