SUN PRAIRIE, Wis. — Compeer Financial’s Fund for Rural America, the Farm Credit cooperative’s giving program, is supporting county fairs with grants to improve facilities and experiences offered to rural communities across the Upper Midwest. Sixty-four fairs received County Fair Facility Upgrade Grants this year, totaling $244,500.
“Our aim with these grants is to positively impact the future of our rural communities,” said Karen Schieler, senior corporate giving specialist at Compeer Financial. “Fairs are the highlight of summer for many of these communities and we hope this will help provide the best possible experience for exhibitors and visitors as they enjoy this important tradition.”
Since the program was established in 2018, the Fund has awarded 304 County Fair Facility Upgrade Grants for a total impact of over $944,742, touching the lives of 8.7 million fair organizers, participants and attendees. The Fund intends to offer this grant again in March 2023.
The 64 organizations in Compeer Financial’s territory receiving support from the County Fair Facility Upgrade Grant Program include:
Illinois
- Henderson County Fair Association: new gutters for the livestock barn
- Henry County Fair Association: painting the swine, sheep and goat show barn
- Jo Daviess County Agricultural Society: repurposing one of the livestock buildings to a show ring, including new barn lime, replacing boards and electrical
- Kane County Fair: replacing siding on the rabbit and poultry barns
- Kankakee County Fair & Exposition, Inc.: purchasing lumber, cages and wire to construct new pens for the poultry barns and repairing or replacing pens in the rabbit barn
- Kendall County Fair Association Inc.: electric service upgrades to the 4-H livestock pavilion
- Knox County Agricultural Board & Fair Association dba Knox County Fair: upgrades to the roof and replacing doors on the livestock area restroom, and the livestock area pavilion roof and pillars
- Lee County Fair Association: purchasing and installing large ceiling fans over the show rings
- Livingston County Ag Fair: updating electrical wiring in the beef and dairy cattle barns
- Marshall-Putnam Fair Association: hog barn roof and building repairs
- McDonough County 4-H Buildings & Grounds Corporation: complete electrical framework installation and PA system the livestock show arena
- Ogle County Fair Association: replacing electrical outlets, repairing conduct and replacing breakers in barns, replacing wooden electrical panel mounts with metal mounts, and installing underground conduct for new transformer
- Rock Island County Agricultural Fair Association: installing concrete flooring in the calf birthing barn
- Sandwich Fair Association, Inc.: replacing rotten boards, preparation for and painting of the swine barn
- Stephenson County Fair Association: updating the electrical in the barns
- The Warren County Agricultural Fair Assoc.: updating electrical wiring and capacity in the livestock barns and judging arenas
- Veterans Memorial Fair Association: repairing guttering and drainage for the covered walkway between the livestock buildings and the livestock review building
- Western Illinois Fair Association: updating lighting and electric with a new service panel, and replacing water lines in livestock barns
- Whiteside County Central Agricultural Society: repairing structural posts and exterior boards in beef and dairy barns
- Winnebago County Fair Association: replacing roof support posts, repainting, and replacing pen gates in the sheep barn
Minnesota
- Benton County 4-H: updating bulletin boards, fixing swine gates, adding panels in livestock stalls, signage for poultry and rabbits, show tables, signs and a new roof to Little Red Barn, boards in the 4-H exhibit building and signage
- Brown County Free Fair: installing new cement at the entrance and exits to the cattle barn, and creating a permanent cement block structure to safely house barn waste and manure
- Carlton County Fair: purchasing electrical and lighting equipment for the indoor livestock show arena
- Carver County Agriculture Society: replacing and updating the electrical in the horse arena crow’s nest
- Cass County Agricultural Society – Pillager Fair: new fencing, t-posts, lumber and gates for horse arena, wheelbarrows, shovels, hay forks and a drag for the arena, and waterers and feeders for the chicken area
- Chisago County Fair: painting the 4-H building, repairing posts in the dairy barn, repairing the roof of the milk house, and repairing the watering system in the hog barn
- Crow Wing County 4-H: updating the lighting in the 4-H building to LED, and shelving for the dog project’s training equipment
- Faribault County Fair: rewiring the hog barn
- Freeborn County Agricultural Society: replacing the overhead door in the cattle barn
- Itasca County Agricultural Association: repairing the cattle wash rack faucets, and insulating the announcer’s stand and upgrading the speaker system in the judging arena
- Le Sueur County Fair: replacing a main water line for the large livestock barns
- McLeod County Agricultural Association: updating lighting in horticulture, crops and pantry building and 4-H exhibit building to high efficiency LED lighting
- Mower County Fair: upgrading the sound and internet in the barns
- Murray County Agricultural Society: upgrading the lighting to LED, and new wiring in the Olson Arena
- Nobles County 4-H: replacing the bleachers in the Olson Arena
- Rice County Fair: building a barrier fence between audience and animal showing area and constructing a new door in the judging arena
- Scott County 4-H: repairing broken boards and installing new pen latches on pens in the sheep and goat barn, and overhauling pens to make them appropriate for housing swine
- Sherburne County Agricultural Society: replacing poultry and rabbit cages and purchasing tables
- Wabasha County Agricultural Fair Association: expanding the sidewalk in the cattle barns, and expanding the wash rack area
- Watonwan County Agricultural Association: purchasing a cooking range for 4-H Food Stand, carpet rug runners for the exhibit building and fans for livestock barns
- Wright County 4-H: purchasing new swing gates for sheep pens
Wisconsin
- Adams County Agricultural Society: building and installing swine waterers for the swine exhibitors and building carts to store the poultry and rabbit cages
- Ashland County Fair: building a pavilion to host the market sale and show the animals
- Barron County Fair Rabbit Program: purchasing new rabbit cages and setup supplies
- Barron County Pro Rodeo Inc: building a new announcer stand/booth with lighting, sound and wi-fi
- Buffalo County Agricultural Fair: new doors and headers in the beef barn, and replacing the wash racks
- Calumet County Agricultural Association: fixing the roof and replacing windows in the dairy barn HG buildings
- Crawford County Fair: adding and upgrading electrical receptacles in the animal barns
- Dunn County Fair: pouring concrete in the sheep and llama barn and installing fans in the dairy and beef barn
- Eau Claire County Friends of the Fair: improvements and signage in the milk house
- Elroy Fair: adding outlets, upgrading power boxes, and increasing breaker size in the hog and sheep buildings, adding more power supply in the beef barn, installing outlets and upgrading breaker boxes in the exhibit building, and replacing all the public address wire in the older buildings and public address horns
- Green County Agricultural Society and Mechanics Institute: completing lighting upgrade project to LED lighting in the exhibition hall building
- Green Lake County Fair: replacing the milk house roof, purchasing free-standing goat pens, updating the cow – heifer headboards and ties, replacing water lines inside the dairy barn, and replacing the vacuum pump for milking
- Iron County Fair Association: purchasing industrial grade LED light fixtures and electrical wiring supplies to improve lighting inside the livestock barn, small animal barn, and livestock show arena
- Jackson County Ag Society: purchasing a new stage
- La Crosse County Ag Society – La Crosse Interstate Fair: purchasing ceiling fans and hanging brackets for sheep and swine show ring
- Lafayette County Fair: construction of a manure push-off area in the swine, goat and sheep barn and reconstruction of the stall areas in the dairy and beef barn
- Pierce County Livestock Committee: construction of a new sheep wash rack, expanding the swine wash rack, and adding a holding tank
- Polk County Fair Society Inc.: cement floor in the small animal, poultry and rabbit barn
- Richland County Fair: electrical upgrades and additional outlets in the Connection Building and upgrading lights in the grandstand area
- Rusk County Livestock Committee: adding clay and leveling the dirt floors in the animal barns and adding fill on the outside of the barns
- Trempealeau County Agricultural Society, Inc.: upgrading the electrical service in the Farm Progress Arena
- Washburn County Jr Fair Assn: repairing beam in the connecting link between the dairy and beef barn and the sheep and swine barn
- Winnebago County Fair Association: replacing barn water lines, leveling ground with additional gravel screenings, adding electrical, and replacing pins in sheep pen gates
For more information about the Country Fair Facility Upgrade Program, visit compeer.com/giving-back.
About the Fund for Rural America
The Compeer Financial Fund for Rural America is the corporate giving program of Compeer Financial, structured to support Compeer Financial’s mission to enrich agriculture and rural America. Compeer Financial’s Board of Directors has dedicated one percent of annual net earnings to support the Fund’s focus areas of agricultural advocacy and development, agriculture education, cooperative initiatives, rural development and community enrichment; and youth engagement. The Fund is managed by a Board of Trustees, made up of team members from Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin and members of the Compeer Financial Board of Directors. More information about opportunities available through the Fund can be found at Compeer.com/giving-back.
About Compeer Financial
Compeer Financial is a member-owned Farm Credit cooperative serving and supporting agriculture and rural communities. The $27 billion organization provides loans, leases, risk management and other financial services throughout 144 counties in Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Based in the Upper Midwest, Compeer Financial exists to champion the hopes and dreams of rural America, while providing personalized service and expertise to clients and the agriculture industry.
Compeer Financial is the third largest cooperative of the Farm Credit System, a nationwide network of lending institutions supporting agriculture and rural communities with reliable, consistent credit and financial services. Learn more about Compeer Financial.
— Compeer Financial