The Southland Public Education Foundation is asking local farmers to donate bushels of soybeans to increase the scholarship fund they award to graduating Southland students.

According to Larry Tompkins, the foundation’s treasurer, the foundation was only able to give one $1,000 scholarship last year.

“We’d like to increase the numbers of those scholarships that we can give,” said Larry Tompkins, the foundation’s treasurer. “If we can get a nice chunk of money we can do that.”

The foundation is relatively new to the Southland area, having been established in 2008. Despite the organization’s infancy, Tompkins said members hope to establish a perpetual fund with which to grant scholarships and provide resources to the school. Although the current fundraising campaign doesn’t have a set goal to reach, Tompkis said any donation amount would be appreciated.

Farmers can turn in soybean bushels at the Northern County Co-op grain elevators in Adams and Rose Creek, the Harvest States elevator in Elkton and the Dexter Elevator Inc., elevator in Dexter. They can contribute by telling the grain elevators how many soybean bushels they wish to donate to the foundation when they visit. The grain elevators will then issue a check to the foundation for the price of the donated bushels.

In addition, cash donations will be accepted at branches of the Farmer’s State Bank in Adams, Elkton, Dexter and Rose Creek.