By Landee Kieschnick
TFB Communications Intern
Farmers are the cornerstone of the community, the backbone of the rural economy and the hands that hold the environment together.
Many are actively involved in the community. And Texas farmers can also invest in youth by supporting their local public school districts through $10,000 and $25,000 grants for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education programs through Monsanto Fund’s America’s Farmers Grow Rural Education program.
“School districts can always use extra money, so the opportunity to provide those funds to help students achieve or learn more is always going to be important for strong communities and important for agriculture,” Heather Wolfe, customer advocacy manager for Monsanto, said.
Farmers are encouraged to nominate a school.
After a school district receives a nomination, the Monsanto Fund will notify the school district, which must then submit a grant application describing their project that enhances math and/or science education in the district.
“A common ground that we’re seeing in each grant recipient is the need for hands-on and real world learning experiences to engage students in agricultural related problems,” Wolfe said. “The emphasis on STEM programs is because moving forward, we feel that funding these initiatives is going to aid the next generation of problem solvers that will lead our ag communities.”
The grant program has funded nearly $600,000 to schools in the Lone Star State alone since the program started in 2011.
This year, the Monsanto Fund expects to award a total of $2.3 million through the program.
Nominations can be made online at GrowRuralEducation.com through April 1.