MADISON – The Monsanto Fund has awarded Madison County Schools with a grant for a $25,000 to further initiatives in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics study.

Sponsored by the Monsanto Fund, America’s Farmers Grow Rural Education program collaborates with farmers who nominate rural schools to receive $2.3 million in STEM Grants.

With the grant, Madison County Schools plans to help engage middle school students in agricultural and aquaponics learning experiences that support problem solving and investigation skills in an outdoor learning environment.

Farmers from across the country nominated, reviewed and selected grant recipients for America’s Farmers Grow Rural Education. Founded in 2011, the program has awarded more than $14 million in grants to rural public school districts, with $145,000 going to Alabama.

This rural education grant can help Madison County students to prepare to take on STEM jobs and have the training they need to help solve global challenges. School districts have used the grants to build greenhouses, develop robotics programs and create livestock learning laboratories.

Nominated school districts submit a grant application describing their proposed STEM-focused project. The program’s Farmer Advisory Council, consisting of approximately 30 farmer leaders from across the country, reviews finalist applications and selects the winning school districts, including Madison County.

“America’s Farmers Grow Rural Education program works with farmers to help make their local communities a better place by preparing their students for successful careers,” Monsanto Fund President Al Mitchell said. “The schools we’ve worked with tell us that the grants they receive have real results.”

Since the program began in 2011, it has awarded more than $14 million to more than 750 schools in rural American communities.

The America’s Farmers campaign highlights the importance of modern U.S. agriculture through communications and community outreach. Visit AmericasFarmers.com.

The Monsanto Fund, the philanthropic arm of Monsanto Company, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening communities where farmers and Monsanto Company employees live and work. Visit monsantofund.org.

For more information and a list of winning school districts, visit GrowRuralEducation.com or Facebook/AmericasFarmers.