By Emmy Powell
Communications Specialist

Texas Farm Bureau launched a new grant program to support agricultural mechanics and metal technologies educators and to provide additional resources to increase their students’ skills.

The new Ag Mechanics Grant Program will offer ten $2,500 grants.

Any certified, active 9th-12th grade teacher in a public school or an accredited non-public secondary educational institution addressing agriculture mechanics and metal technologies, agriculture structures design and fabrication, agriculture equipment design and fabrication, and/or agricultural power systems TEKS is eligible to apply.

“Our hope is this program will better equip educators addressing the highlighted TEKS to provide hands-on learning opportunities for their students,” McKenna Bush, TFB Youth Outreach coordinator, said. “Many ag mech shops could use additional resources to provide the necessary equipment for student learning.”

Applicants must demonstrate how funds will be used to increase students’ knowledge of agricultural mechanics and metal technology skills. All applications also must include a detailed budget with estimated expenses.

“This grant program will provide funding to meet the need in trade school classrooms and allow students to graduate from high school with skills that can be directly transferred to agriculture and supporting industries,” Bush said.

A panel of judges will review the applications and select the recipients. Judges will be made aware that the goal of the grant is to provide classroom resources to the educator, not fund agricultural mechanics projects for competition or show.

Grant funds will be paid to the public school or accredited non-public secondary educational institution named in the grant application. Grant funds will not be paid to an individual.

Program guidelines and an application form are available online at texasfarmbureau.org/youth/youth-opportunities.

Applications must be submitted online by Aug. 1.

Grant recipients will be announced in mid-September.

For more information on the grant program and other resources available for youth programs, contact youthactivities@txfb.org or call 254-399-5037.