Following his passing 12 years ago, local farmer Edward Guse entrusted his 210-acre farm to the Southwestern Michigan College Foundation, planting the seeds for the next generation of the region’s youth.

Next week, those seeds could blossom into scholarships supporting dozens of the college’s students.

At 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 9, at the Mathews Conference Center at the SMC Dowagiac Campus, the foundation will hold an auction for the rights to lease the Wilbur Hill Road property for three years.

All proceeds from the sale will go toward funding the college’s student scholarships, which are awarded in the spring to students with financial needs.

The school is hoping that the sale will result in a surge in the amount of dollars they will be able to offer students over the next few years, said SMC President David Mathews.

“To be able to now offer a lot more scholarships that we didn’t have before is going to be transformative for dozens and dozens of student lives,” Mathews said.

Though the farmland was entrusted to the SMC Foundation by the late Guse in 2002, the conditions of the gift stated that portions of the property could be used by chosen parties for a predetermined amount of time until it ultimately fell under the care of the organization.

Two years ago, however, the last occupant of the property, Larry Tumbleson, got into a dispute with the foundation over the terms Guse left in his trust document. The dispute carried over into court, where both parties came to an arrangement this summer, leaving the foundation in possession of the property, Mathews said.

“The ultimate desire of Ed Guse is being implemented sooner rather than later,” he said.

The college president expects between 50 to 75 people to attend Tuesday’s auction. Since the land will remain in possession of the college past the three-year lease agreement, there’s even more potential for future scholarship revenue.

“This is going to produce scores and scores of scholarships, every year,” he said. “It was a tremendously generous gift on the part of Guse, and I think it’s an example for all us to do something for others.”