The 2020 Grow Rural Education program, which provides Iowa farmers with the opportunity to nominate local rural public schools for $15,000 grants designed to enhance STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education, is officially underway!

Grow Rural Education, sponsored by Bayer Fund, has awarded more than $18 million to more than 1,000 schools nationwide since the program began in 2011. Now until April 1st, farmers can nominate their school district by visiting www.Americasfarmers.com.

Previous winners include an Iowa school district that converted an unused locker room into a Monarch butterfly incubator. And a Missouri high school used a Grow Rural Education grant to enhance its STEM classes by purchasing an aquaponics system that breeds fish and grows plants in an integrated environment.

Since 2010, America’s Farmers have awarded more than $53 million to worthy causes, students and public schools across the country. For the Grow Rural Education program specifically, farmers nominate a local public school to apply for one of the grants by visiting AmericasFarmers.com. The process takes less than five minutes and has strengthened schools by bringing together students, teachers, farmers and community members to make STEM programs more engaging.

After the school district receives a nomination, they will be notified and teachers are encouraged to submit a grant application describing their desired STEM project by April 15, 2020. A panel of qualified math and science teachers reviews the applications and selects the finalists. The program’s Farmer Advisory Council, consisting of approximately 30 farming leaders from across the country, will then select the winning school districts.

In the fall, farmers can enroll in the Grow Communities program for the chance to direct a $2,500 donation to a local eligible nonprofit organization, and the Grow Ag Leaders program will begin accepting applications for $1,500 scholarships for students pursuing an education in agriculture-related fields.