Flex Farms Provide Southwest Wisconsin Schools With New Agricultural Opportunities
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Fennimore High School is one of 22 area schools receiving a hydroponic indoor Flex Farm, a compact system to grow plants and produce.
By Ashley Weil
Sep. 9, 2025
FENNIMORE, Wis. (WMTV) - Fennimore High School is one of 22 area schools receiving a hydroponic indoor flex farm, a compact system to grow plants and produce. Southwest Wisconsin Technical College funded the farms to support learning experiences in K-12 schools.
Executive Dean at Southwest Tech, Kim Maier, says the partnership to provide Flex Farms to school districts supports their goals to support agriculture education.
Fennimore High School is one of 22 area schools receiving a hydroponic indoor flex farm, a compact system to grow plants and produce. Southwest Wisconsin Technical College funded the farms to support learning experiences in K-12 schools.(wmtv)
“There isn’t a better way than providing a farm where schools can grow their own food and have it be a learning experience,” said Maier.
The farming technology allows crops to grow quickly and efficiently. Maier says most schools are using the tool to grow food for their cafeterias.
“Here in southwest Wisconsin, agriculture is one of our primary industries. And so it’s really important for our students, whether they’re a student, a resident, whatever it may be, to learn about self-sustainability,” explained Maier.
Fennimore High School is one of 22 area schools receiving a hydroponic indoor flex farm, a compact system to grow plants and produce. Southwest Wisconsin Technical College funded the farms to support learning experiences in K-12 schools.(wmtv)
“When I saw that it was going to come to our school, I thought it was pretty awesome,” said Keely Everson, who is a senior at Fennimore High School. “This vertical grower, I feel like it is going to be a great new addition to our school.”
Fennimore students will begin learning how to use the farm by producing lettuce. Then, they hope to grow more vegetables and fruits for their community.
“And as an FFA chapter, we are excited to get a grip on this and when we start to learn more with experience we are hoping to actually grow other fruits like strawberries or vegetables like tomatoes to put in our own greenhouse, which the funds will come back to the FFA chapter,” explained FFA President, Eden Richter, a senior at Fennimore High School.
Richter says it will be an amazing learning experience for students to have.
Fennimore High School is one of 22 area schools receiving a hydroponic indoor Flex Farm, a compact system to grow plants and produce. Southwest Wisconsin Technical College funded the farms to support learning experiences in K-12 schools.(wmtv)
Shelby Mitchell is the FFA Advisor and main agriculture instructor at Fennimore. She says it’s important for students to learn how to do things on their own and have access to fresh ingredients.
“It’s 100% going to be led by students. I mean, I will advise them, I will give them knowledge, and we’ll read directions and we’ll do that kind of stuff, but it’s going to be students 100%,” said Mitchell.
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