Ukrainian farmers participating in a study tour across South Dakota made a stop in Wessington Springs last Wednesday, visiting MPM Seed located on the corner of SD Highway 34 and 383rd Avenue.
The farmers from Ukraine, Olch Zapletniuk, Anton Zhemerdieiev, Vitalii Vanchuliak, and Ieven Makarchenkov together farm 200,000 acres and are looking to expand into hemp production. Their trip across South Dakota and western Minnesota, which has similar growing conditions to Ukraine, focused on hemp growing and processing operations in the United States.
MPM Seed owner, Al Meier of Wessington Springs and son Helio Oliveira explained that the group toured not only the seed plant in Wessington Springs but also the Meier farm operation in Hayes, SD to learn more about hemp production and American agricultural technology.
“We tried hemp last year and we showed them around the place in Hayes,” Meier said. “They had a lot of questions they asked through their translator. For them, it’s an educational tour so they can take the knowledge from the U.S. back to Ukraine.”
The study tours are made possible by a nonprofit organization named BRIDGES, which connects Ukrainian farmers with agriculturists and experts from the United States to learn about the latest developments in a specific area of ag.
The group also included Ken Meyer, owner of a hemp processing facility in Winfred and president of the South Dakota Industrial Hemp Association and Dr. Richard Leep, Michigan State University Agronomist.
Before touring Meier’s facilities in Hayes and Wessington Springs, they began their trip at the Capitol in Pierre, where they were welcomed by the South Dakota State Legislature.
During their trip the farmers from Ukraine also toured Raven Precision Agriculture Center on the campus of South Dakota State University.
This educational study tour supports a larger effort back in Ukraine as part of the country’s recovery plan: to revive industrial hemp cultivation across the country.