School is back in session.

Friday night lights are burning as the Braves and Owls hit the grid iron and marching bands roll out their new shows.

Some leaves are already turning brown and fluttering to the ground.

Seymour Oktoberfest and Fort Vallonia Days are just around the corner. Yes, autumn is quickly approaching.

And that means the fall harvest will soon kick into gear with some Jackson County farmers readying their combines to work their way through fields, harvesting their corn and soybean crops.

Farmers will transfer bushels and bushels of corn and beans from field to farm to grain buyers, food processors and eventually to our grocers and our own kitchen tables.

They hope this growing season has been a good one, producing a good yield. The Community Foundation of Jackson County hopes so, too, for the benefit of our farmers and our community in general. That’s because farmers and the agri-business sector represent a strong, vibrant part of our economy and community. Many of our friends and neighbors are employed directly or indirectly by farming and the businesses that help keep them operating.

Each harvest season, the foundation makes a tool available to area farmers to help support the community — the Giving a Gift of Grain program.

Participating in Gift of Grain is simple and can take place at participating elevators — Premier Ag in Brownstown, Bundy Brothers at Medora, Rose Acre Farms at Cortland, Tampico Grain near Crothersville and White River Nutrition near Cortland.

Gifts can benefit the area’s agricultural community through grants to programs such as 4-H and scholarship funds such as the Premier Companies/Bob Myers Memorial Scholarship and the Jackson County Veterinary Scholarship.

They can also benefit our community in general through the Fall Grant cycle with gifts to unrestricted funds. DB Pfaffenberger Sons Grain of Seymour have done just that the last several years with donations to the foundation’s Community Fund.

“It’s just the right thing to do – giving back whenever you can,” Mike Pfaffenberger said.

Donald Schnitker of Cortland plans to again make a Gift of Grain this year. It again will be directed to the Orville and Mary Schnitker Memorial Endowment, which was started in December 2016 by Schnitker and his sisters, Lois Bryden and Lora Willey, to honor their parents.

He joined the Foundation’s Board of Directors in April 2021, but he’s been a Gift of Grain giver since its inception.

“In these times, many people in our area have basic needs that are unmet,” said Schnitker, who serves as the Foundation’s chair of the Grant Committee. “Giving through the Foundation helps make an impact in improving the overall well-being of our community.”

Schnitker encourages all farmers to consider contributing to the Gift of Grain.

A farmer’s grain donations also count as votes in the good-natured Head-To-Head: Green vs. Red contest.

For information about the Giving a Gift of Grain program, or its companion program, Giving a Gift of Livestock, contact the Community Foundation of Jackson County at 812-523-4483, or send an email to [email protected] . We’ll be happy to work with you as you harvest your crops and sow the seeds to help us grow better tomorrows. Stored grain may be donated any time of the year, by the way.

The foundation also invites tractor enthusiasts to stand up and vote – with their donations — for their favorite implements in the Head to Head: Green vs. Red competition this fall.

A $25 donation entitles the donor to cast one vote for their favorite equipment line. A $100 donation entitles the donor to five votes. You can vote in our office or online by going to cfjacksoncounty.org and clicking on the “Donate Now” button.

Just one more thing – let’s be careful out there as those lumbering combines, grain trucks and trailers make their way along area roads as farmers hustle to bring in their harvest.

Dan Davis is president and CEO of the Community Foundation of Jackson County, 107 Community Drive, Seymour, IN 47274. For information about donating to the foundation, call 812-523-4483 or send an email to [email protected] .