St. Lawrence Valley SPCA gets $2,500 donation from Monsanto-funded program

North Country Now is reporting today that the St. Lawrence Valley Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Ogdensburg will get a $2,500 donation. Farmer Jason Kelly, of Rensselaer Falls, directed the donation to the SPCA; it’s funded by the Monsanto Fund’s America’s Farmers Grow Communities program (The Monsanto Fund is the philanthropic arm of Monsanto.)

The Monsanto Fund picks farmers randomly, with one winner drawn in each eligible county every year. According to the paper, the program has donated more than $16 million to more than 6,500 not-for-profit organizations across the U.S. since it began operating in 2010. If you’re interested in entering, it’s not open yet for next year, but here’s the information. Also, the eligibility criteria are interesting:

County Eligibility – This program is open to farmers who live or farm in one of the eligible counties listed in Section 13 of these Official Rules and on www.GrowCommunities.com. The counties listed meet one of the following criteria:

• a total of either (i) 30,000 acres of corn, soybeans and/or cotton, or (ii) 30,000 acres of vegetables (defined as one or more of the following: pepper; tomato; onion; broccoli; cucumber; melons; watermelons; spinach; squash; pumpkin; sweet corn; lettuce; peas; and garden beans), are planted per calendar year. Planted acreage is based on the January 2013 U.S.D.A Crop Production Report for 2012 State acres as received from Doane Ag with estimated county level acreage; and on the 2007 USDA Census report for vegetables; or
• the county was eligible to participate in prior Grow Communities programs.

Farmer Eligibility – Entrants must live or farm in an eligible county, be 21 years old or older and actively engaged in farming a minimum of 250 acres of corn, soybeans, and/or cotton; or 40 acres of open field vegetables (as defined above), or at least 10 acres of tomatoes, peppers, and/or cucumbers grown in protected culture (glasshouse, nethouse, plastic). Entrants are limited to one entry per qualified person (regardless of the form of entry). A farmer is “actively engaged in farming” if he or she performs the work, or hires and actively manages others who do so.

Oh, also, here’s a list of the winners by county. In Jefferson County, Ellen Wood of Clayton directed her donation to Cape Vincent Elementary School.

Tags: animals, charity, community, donation, farmer, monsanto, spca