Eighteen local students will soon receive grant money for their agricultural projects in Franklin County.
A total of $2,483 in grants was awarded by the Shelburne Agricultural Commission to student projects ranging from growing fruit and vegetables to raising livestock. Students received grants of up to $200, according to commission member Carolyn Wheeler.
“I think some of them have participated in family (farming) activities … but to have their very own patch of garden, or their own berries or animals, we wanted to have them have the experience of that,” she said. “You never know, once a student gets interested, how far they might take it.”
Wheeler said the commission began reaching out in March to local schools, 4-H clubs and gardening clubs to advertise the grants, which are funded by the 2018 Shelburne Grown Dinner. Students were encouraged to submit applications describing an agricultural project and how much money they would need to carry it out.
The commission met remotely on May 12 to go through and approve the grant applications, after which the commission began making calls to students to let them know they had received funding. Wheeler expects the checks to be written this week.
Brothers Brody and Cole Cross, both of Shelburne, will receive grants through the commission.
Brody, 9, will use his award to raise chicks to become laying hens. The grant money will go toward fixing up and painting the chicken coop, as well as building the laying boxes.
“We can’t really go to the stores that much, so we can get eggs from them,” Brody said.
His brother Cole, 11, will raise a calf that he will get from his grandmother. He said to bring the calf to their property in Shelburne, he will need to purchase fencing, a halter, food and supplies to care for the calf.
“It’ll just be nice to have him up here, and I think he’ll be happy,” he said.
The boys’ mother, Emily Cross, said Cole talks about eventually having another calf for milking.
Other award-winning students plan to raise pigs, build a bean house to grow beans and raspberries, and buy a dehydrator to make beef jerky.
Grant recipients will be mentored by adults with experience in the different types of gardening and livestock ventures, and they will be followed over the course of the season to check in on their progress.
“The students we’ve spoken to are really interested and really excited about this,” Wheeler said. “We’re really hoping that we can spike their interest, so they’ll continue in some form of farming.”
Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 263. Twitter: @MaryEByrne