District named winner in America’s Farmers Grow Rural Education
Students at Badger High School will soon be learning production agriculture year-round, and the crops they produce in the classroom will be served up on the lunch trays of their fellow students. Thanks to the support of local farmers and America’s Farmers Grow Rural Education, Lake Geneva-Genoa City UHS School District received a $10,000 grant to build a vertical farming greenhouse to grow lettuce, tomatoes and other herbs and vegetables, and implement a farm-to-school program for students and faculty at Badger High School.
America’s Farmers Grow Rural Education, sponsored by the Monsanto Fund, gives farmers the opportunity to nominate a public school district in their community to compete for a grant of either $10,000 or $25,000 to enhance education in the areas of math and/or science. More than 1,000 nominated school districts submitted applications. The Monsanto Fund will invest $2.3 million into rural education through this program.
“Thanks to America’s Farmers Grow Rural Education, we will be able to teach our students about growing produce and get them involved in the farm-to-table continuum,” said Candice Olson, Badger High School agriscience instructor and FFA advisor. “This grant will give our students the opportunity to learn how to grow vegetables, understand diseases and pests and what it takes to get these products from farm to fork, which will assist them in their everyday lives as more educated consumers.”
After being nominated by local farmers, school districts completed an online application, and math and science teachers from ineligible school districts chose finalists. The America’s Farmers Grow Rural Education Advisory Council, a group of 26 prominent farmers from across the country, then reviewed the finalists’ applications and selected the winners.
“We are grateful for the area-farmers who nominated our district for this grant,” said Larry Plapp, Badger High School agriscience instructor and FFA advisor. “As we are further removed every year from our ancestors who were farmers, it is important for our students to understand who our local farmers are and their important contributions to our school and our community.”
Lake Geneva-Genoa City UHS School District was presented with the $10,000 grant during a presentation at the homecoming football game.
America’s Farmers Grow Rural Education started with a successful pilot in Illinois and Minnesota in 2011, in which farmers were given the opportunity to nominate a public school district in 165 eligible counties in those two states. The Monsanto Fund awarded more than $266,000 to local schools in 16 CRDs. Now, the program has expanded to 1,245 eligible counties in 39 states.
America’s Farmers Grow Rural Education helps farmers positively impact their communities and supports local rural school districts. This program is part of the Monsanto Fund’s overall effort to support rural education and communities. Another program that is part of this effort is America’s Farmers Grow Communities, which gives winning farmers the opportunity to direct a $2,500 donation to their favorite community nonprofit organization in their county. Farmers can participate in this program through Nov. 30, 2012 by visiting www.growcommunities.com.
