Skip to main content

America’s Farmers Grow Rural Education Grant

Byron-Bergen High School receives $25,000 worth of science equipment

By Billie Owens

Pictured: Byron-Bergen students assist in unpacking the new equipment. Photo credit: Gretchen Spittler.

Submitted photo and press release:

This fall, the Byron-Bergen High School Science program was awarded a $25,000 America’s Farmers Grow Rural Education Grant. On Jan. 4, Agriculture teacher Jeffrey Parnapy received a delivery -- five modest shipping boxes containing $25,000 worth of state-of-the-art equipment to support the Agriculture, Biology, Chemistry and Physics programs.

"My colleagues and I are ready to implement these new tools directly into our coursework," Parnapy said. "We have been anticipating the arrival and it's very exciting to be able to bring a new level of technology to our students."

Parnapy wrote the grant proposal in collaboration with his science colleagues Michael Conine, Briana DelVecchio, Jenifer Faro, Peter Spence and Terry Vick.

This project was made possible by local farmers and America’s Farmers Grow Rural Education, sponsored by the Monsanto Fund.

The complete list of new equipment includes:

  • 13 Lab Quest interfaces
  • One anemometer
  • One barometer
  • 12 CO2 gas sensors
  • Nine conductivity sensors
  • 12 dual range force sensors
  • Five dissolved oxygen probes
  • Four flow rate sensors
  • 10 energy sensors
  • 12 infrared thermometers
  • 12 motion detectors
  • 24 pH sensors
  • One sound level meter
  • 24 temperature probes
  • Four drop counters
  • 12 photogates
  • Three spectrophotometers
  • Four Lab Quest interface charging stations

About America’s Farmers

The America’s Farmers campaign highlights the importance of modern U.S. Agriculture through communications and community outreach programs that partner with farmers to impact rural America. To learn more, visit America’s Farmers at www.AmericasFarmers.com.

About the Monsanto Fund

The Monsanto Fund, the philanthropic arm of the Monsanto Company, is a nonprofit dedicated to strengthening farm communities and the communities where Monsanto employees live and work.

Authentically Local