22 Wisconsin Schools Receive Grant from Compeer Financial

Sun Prairie, Wis. (May 27, 2025) – Compeer Financial announced 22 middle and high schools across Wisconsin will receive up to $4,000 each to support agricultural education programs and equipment through its Agriculture Education and Classroom Equipment Grant Program. In total, Compeer is awarding 65 schools in Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin a total of $239,815.

The grants represent Compeer’s commitment to rural communities by providing middle and high school students with hands-on learning experiences and new technologies that showcase the limitless opportunities within the agricultural industry. With a mere 1.2 percent of U.S. employment tied to direct on-farm jobs, fewer people, even in rural communities, have a connection to agriculture. Supporting ag education enables students to better understand the many ways agriculture touches our lives with the hope of sparking their interest in pursuing a career in the ag industry.

“We know when young people experience agriculture through hands-on activities, it sparks a passion for the industry,” said Karen Schieler, manager of corporate giving at Compeer Financial. “Compeer is committed to helping ag education programs have access to classroom equipment and technology so students can have real-world experiences. These grants provide support to high school programs that are essential to creating the next generation of agriculture advocates.”

The Agriculture Education and Classroom Equipment Grant Program is part of Compeer Financial’s Fund for Rural America, the Farm Credit cooperative’s giving program. Funding will support programs and technologies for a variety of classes linked to agriculture, including animal and plant sciences, food science / chemistry, veterinary, horticulture, mechanics, forestry / wildlife, aquatics and more. Of this year’s recipients, 31 schools, or 34 percent, are receiving the Agriculture Education and Classroom Equipment Grant for the first time.

Middle and high school agriculture departments within Compeer’s 144-county territory are eligible to apply for the grant program, provided they did not receive a grant during the prior two years. The 2026 application will open in April 2026.

The 22 Wisconsin school programs earning an Agriculture Education and Classroom Equipment Grant in 2025 include:

• Amery High School: A livestock scale, a chicken coop.
• Baldwin-Woodville Area School District: Greenhouse growing equipment.
• Cassville High School: Bovine breeder artificial insemination simulator.
• Delavan-Darien School District: A hydroponics grow tower, animal identification tools.
• Dodgeville High School: An aquaculture system.
• Fall Creek School District: Equipment for Natural Resources and Ecology, and Animal Health and Veterinary Science courses.
• Frederic 6-12 School: A hydroponics unit.
• Holmen High School: Supplies for aquaponics, field trips, and a chicken coop.
• Juda School District: A band saw, a table router.
• Lake Holcombe School District: A portable sawmill.
• Lake Mills High School FFA: A butcher pork cut model, swine and chicken kits.
• Mount Horeb High School: Digital incubator.
• Pecatonica CUSD 321: A metal cutting plasma table.
• Randolph Township School District: A pump and starter fish for aquaculture.
• Rice Lake Area School District: LED grow lights.
• River Falls High School: Commercial-grade refrigerator, food processing equipment.
• School District of Monroe: Animal housing pens.
• School District of Oakfield: Building a chicken coop / shed.
• School District of Sheboygan Falls: Middle school Ag Ed Club, raised garden beds, food science equipment.
• Stoughton Area School District: Hydroponic growing tower.
• Sun Prairie Area School District – Patrick Marsh and Prairie View Middle Schools: Food dehydrators, ice cream freezer, digital microscope, LED grow lights, stethoscopes, otoscopes, animal models, hydroponic systems.
• Verona Area High School – Verona Area School District: Wool pellet press.

About the Fund for Rural America

The Compeer Financial Fund for Rural America is the corporate giving program of Compeer Financial, structured to support Compeer Financial’s mission to enrich agriculture and rural America. Compeer Financial’s Board of Directors has dedicated one percent of annual net earnings to support the Fund’s focus areas of agriculture education, youth engagement, rural development and community enrichment, agricultural advocacy and development, and cooperative initiatives. The Fund is managed by a Board of Trustees, made up of team members and members of the Compeer Financial Board of Directors. Learn more about opportunities available through the Fund.

About Compeer Financial

Compeer Financial is a member-owned Farm Credit cooperative serving and supporting agriculture and rural communities. The $34.8 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.