Four St. Lawrence County school districts are in the running as finalists to compete for a grant of up to $25,000 from the Monsanto Fund.

Madrid-Waddington Central School, Brasher Falls Central School District, Canton Central School District and Morristown Central School District have been named as finalists for an America’s Farmers Grow Rural Education grant. These schools are four of 15 finalists in New York.

The winners will be announced at the end of August.

“We received so many outstanding applications from rural school districts across the county,” said Monsanto Fund President Deborah Patterson. “The finalists truly went above and beyond what was expected and stand out as top tier choices.”

More than 61,000 farmers shared their passion for rural education by nominating more than half the eligible school districts. Finalist schools were chosen for their program ideas and funding needs. These school districts demonstrated community support through numerous farmer nominations, which strengthened the district’s application.

The grant review process includes an online application scoring system based on merit, need and community support; a review by science and math teachers from ineligible school districts; and a farmer advisory council.

A group of 26 farmer leaders from across the country will select the winning grant applications.

The program has expanded from its beginnings to 1,245 eligible counties in 39 states.

America’s Farmers Grow Rural Education is sponsored by the Monsanto Fund to help farmers positively impact their communities and support local rural school districts.

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

To see the full list of finalists visit GrowRuralEducation.com.