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Proceeds from '07 show yield $94,000 in community grants
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Times photo: Jim Winter Among groups receiving Farm Tech Days grants are, front, from left: Alicia Gordee, Green County Goat project; Tiffany Masseur, Albany FFA; Melisa Schmidt, Monroe FFA Alumni; Brienne Hendrickson, Green County Ag Chest; Mikala McKee, Green County Ag Chest; Kris Winkler, Green County Barn Quilts and Tammy Schulte, Green County YMCA & Y-We Care; middle: Noreen Rueckert, Green County Tourism and Green County Cheese Days; Sam Kaderly, Green County Fair; Hilary Bauman, Albany Schools and Albertson Library; Ron Markham, FTD Treasurer; Evelyn Crooks, Green County Sheep Producers; Ken Engelke, Green County FFA Alumni Chapters; Jeff Ditzenberger, Green County Farm Bureau; Jean Busker, Green County Big Brothers/Sisters; Ruth Beckman, Albany Historical Society; Miranda Powers, Brodhead FFA; April Austin, Brodhead FFA; Morgan Behnke, Green County Junior Holstein Breeders and Jayne Butts, Blackhawk FFA Alumni; back: Lane Heins, Monroe Fire Department; Art Riese, Green County Towns Unit; Ralph Johnson, Juda FFA; Dan Ziegler, New Glarus FFA; Jim Glessner, Historic Cheesemaking Center; Josh Steiner, Monroe FFA Alumni; Loren Homb, Monroe Middle School; Jamie Rupp, Albany FFA; Jillian McNeely, Albany FFA and Katie Sutherland, Albany FFA.
MONROE - The Green County Farm Technology Days Executive Committee recently awarded over $94,000 in community grants to 29 local groups and organizations.

Many of the grant recipients include several groups within each grant, resulting in the funding actually assisting more than 45 local non-profit groups and organizations.

The committee received 39 grant requests totaling more than $195,000. The community grants were funded from the proceeds that were earned as a result of Green County hosting the Wisconsin Farm Technology Days Show in September 2007.

The grant recipients include Green County Farm Bureau for developing a mobile agriculture educational display aimed at educating consumers about agriculture.

The Monroe Fire Department received a grant for grain augers to be used in training volunteer firefighters how to perform rescues from grain bins at their new MERIT Center.

The Green County FFA Alumni Chapters of Belleville, Monroe, New Glarus, Brodhead, Juda, Monticello and Albany received a grant for purchasing a food trailer to be used as a fund raiser for all the chapters.

Several grants were accepted to help make improvements in the livestock barns at the Green County Fairgrounds. Three large ventilation fans will be installed in the arena of the stock pavilion along with the dairy and beef show barns. The Green County Pork Producers, Sheep Producers and Goat Producers all received funding to improve ventilation and to add additional pen space in the swine, sheep and goat barns.

Green County Ag Chest received a grant to fund farm first aid kits to distribute to youth taking the Green County tractor safety class.

The Green County Beef Producers were awarded a grant toward the purchase of a promotion and storage trailer.

The Green County Barn Quilts program received funds to develop and print promotion brochures and the Green County YMCA preschool program was awarded a grant for sponsoring a field trip to a farm.

Several FFA chapters also received grants. The Brodhead and Monroe FFA chapters were awarded a grant to help fund their Food for America programs. Monroe and Juda FFA received funding for soybean science kits, and the New Glarus FFA was awarded a grant for purchasing GPS/GIS units. These items will be shared for classroom use among all the high school agriculture programs in the county. Blackhawk FFA also received a grant to help them purchase a plasma cutting machine for their shop.

Green County Tourism and Green County Cheese Days received grants to conduct a Bounty of Green County program that will promote the use of locally grown foods, as well as to help pay for the production of two programs for Discover Wisconsin that will highlight Cheese Days and other agriculture businesses in Green County.

The Albertson Library in Albany received a grant for purchasing agriculture reference materials for their new library and the Green County Towns Unit was awarded a grant to assist local townships in developing collection sites for recycling agriculture plastic for county farmers.

The Albany School District received funds to help in the construction of a new greenhouse that will be used by both the agriculture and science departments. The Albany Historical Society received a grant to help purchase display cases, and the Historic Cheese Making Center was awarded funding to assist them in converting all of their historical data from VHS to DVD format.

Green County Big Brothers and Big Sisters received a grant to supplement their Youth Mentoring Program.

Monroe Middle School was awarded funds for their Conservation Days Tour, and the Green County Junior Holstein Breeders were awarded a grant to help fund the upcoming state convention that is being hosted by the group.

The grants, along with the $93,500 that was previously distributed to area non-profit groups that assisted with the food tents and other portions of the show, equal more than $188,000 being distributed 78 groups.