From communism to cash rent: farming 20,000 acres in Ukraine is an adventure in capitalism that nets 100 dollar an acre for this Illinois farmer

摘要

Eleven years ago, Roger Denhart went on a church mission to the former Soviet Union, hoping to work at one of the few state-approved churches allowed to stay open during the communist regime. But something happened to the Champaign County farmer while he was away on his spiritual journey. "I went, and the first thing I notice is this fiat, black land," recalls Denhart, who farms 260 acres near St. Joseph, Ill. "I'm thinking, there must be some incredible soils here. But the yields were not impressive." Denhart came home and reported what he saw to an investor friend, Joe Parker. When he described the black soils, Parker's eyes got as big as saucers. "'We ought to be farming there,' said Parker. I thought he was crazy," Denhart recalls.