COLUMBUS – Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation recently awarded $20,700 in grants to organizations that support and promote Ohio’s agricultural industry as well as local communities. The foundation’s Action & Awareness grants focus on four core areas: economic development, education, environment and the human-animal bond.

Grant recipients:

• AgriPOWER to support two scholarships for Ohio Farm Bureau’s intensive, year-long leadership program for farmers and agribusiness professionals.

• Crown Point Ecology Center to help convert an existing building into a honey extraction and beeswax processing facility that will be available to local northeastern Ohio beekeepers.

• Friends of the Juvenile Court in Clinton County to help expand an existing program that pairs at-risk youth with local farmers through the 4-H process.

• Ohio Energy Project in support of its Energy Sources Tour and Energy Sources Blitz programs that give teachers behind-the-scenes access to the energy industry.

• Ohio Hop Growers Guild to support its 2019 Ohio Hop Conference in January.

The next application cycle for an Action & Awareness Grant is Jan. 1 to April 30, 2019. Grants may be used for general support, startup funding for new organizations, program expansion, or capital for equipment necessary to implement eligible programs. Learn more at ofbf.org/foundation/aagrants/.