Local High Schools Win Ag Education Grants

(KNSI) – Becker and ROCORI High Schools are benefiting from an agricultural education grant handed out by Compeer Financial.

The company is awarding 21 middle and high schools in the state’s rural communities up to $4,000 each to help purchase equipment or create new lessons tied to farming. Becker’s share will go towards a hydroponics grow system, sensors, and plants. ROCORI will use its grant for a meat scale and label maker, gear that is used daily in nearby factories and prolific processing plants like Pilgrim’s Pride.

Compeer runs the program across the heart of the Midwest, including Illinois and Wisconsin. The business hopes to act as a catalyst for interest in agriculture as a career. Manager of corporate giving at Compeer Financial, Karen Schieler, says, “We know when young people experience agriculture through hands-on activities, it sparks a passion for the industry.”

Compeer notes that only 1.2 percent of jobs in America are tied to on-farm jobs. Officials say that even in small towns, a majority of the people living there have little to no experience in agriculture and lack a basic understanding of how it leads to meals making it to the dining room table.

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