4.19.21 – Members of the Prairie Band Tribal Council and Prairie Band LLC Board of Directors, ceremoniously break ground at the new Prairie Band Ag Hemp Operations site on the PBPN Common Land. From left: Raphael Wahwassuck, PBPN TC Member, Corey Mzhickteno, PBLLC BOD Member, Tracy Stanhoff, PBLLC BOD Member, Zach Pahmahmie, PBPN TC Vice-Chairman, Joseph Rupnick, PBPN TC Chairman, Tony Wahweotten, PBPN TC Member, Bill Evans, PBPN TC Member, Camilla Chouteau, PBPN TC Secretary, Wade Pahmahmie, PBPN TC Treasurer, Jona Rupnicki, PBLLC BOD Member, and Jacob “Tug” Wamego, PBLLC CEO and President.
4.23.21
Prairie Band Ag, LLC a subsidiary of Prairie Band, LLC wholly owned by the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation broke ground Monday, April 19, 2021, on a new farm operation located on O Road, on the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation Common Land. The O Road site is the kickoff to Prairie Band’s entrance into the industrial hemp market. The Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation recognizes the opportunity industrial hemp provides as a new sustainable industry that allows the Nation to exercise its economic sovereignty.
The Industrial Hemp farm operation will be comprised of 3 greenhouses and a 6-acre field. The greenhouses will consist of two standard greenhouses and one light deprivation greenhouse, all with the capability to operate through the winter. The light deprivation greenhouse is an advanced system of growing, which will maximize plant yields and CBD levels with 12-hour cycles of light during the flowering period. The operation will also house mother plants for cloning and allow Prairie Band Ag to start their own feminized seed projects in the greenhouses.
The outdoor 6-acre field will be used to grow hemp for biomass extraction, which will then be infused into Prairie Hemp products. The user-friendly, THC-free pain relief will be available as gel capsules, gummies and in topical form. Currently Prairie Band Ag markets a line of CBD products available at Prairie Band One Stop.
Initial Prairie Band Ag operations will add 8 jobs to the local economy, with plans to include an additional 6 jobs in the coming year in the fields of horticulture and biosciences. Plans for the new farm as a component of the new Prairie Band Ag division have been in the works for over a year with a collaborative approach between Prairie Band Ag management, the Prairie Band LLC Board of Directors and the Nation’s Tribal Council and key staff.
On Saturday, April 17, 2021, the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation General Council voted to invest 2.3M with a 20% contingency to cover rising costs of materials into the Prairie Band Ag operations. The bulk of the funding will go toward the infrastructure of the O Road site and equipment costs for a decorticator and seed processing equipment.
Moving forward, the Nation’s Land program is working to merge with the Prairie Band Ag division to best utilize the Nation’s land resources, livestock, and farming practices. Prairie Band Ag, LLC is committed to reviving traditional farming practices and creating a healthier community by integrating a variety of plant medicines including industrial hemp, and eventually fresh produce and traditional herbs. In the future, Prairie Band Ag plans to incorporate fresh produce and an herb garden strengthening the local food system and advancing food sovereignty.
Prairie Band Ag plans to produce hemp on the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation Common Land in line with official PBPN Code, which is also in accord with the federal law pursuant to the 2018 Farm Bill. Prairie Band Ag is also structured to process industrial hemp for its grain and fiber which produce a very clean product for a variety of end uses.
The Prairie Band Ag, LLC operations manager, Muriel Young Bear, can be reached at (785) 380-5575 with offices at the Prairie Band, LLC headquarters for further inquiries.
:: Photo Gallery ::
4.19.21 – The Prairie Band LLC Board of Directors and CEO celebrated the groundbreaking of the Prairie Band Ag Industrial Hemp site located on O road, on the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation Common Land. From left: Corey Mzhickteno, PBLLC BOD member, Tracy Stanhoff, PBLLC BOD member, Zach Pahmahmie, PBLLC BOD member/PBPN TC, Jona Rupnicki, PBLLC BOD member, Bill Evans PBLLC BOD member/PBPN TC, and Jacob “Tug” Wamego, PBLLC CEO and President.
4.19.21 – Tyler Levier, Prairie Band LLC Chief Operating Officer, Mike Boswell, PBPN Land Manager, Theo Wahquahboshkuk, Prairie Band Ag Lead Cultivator, Muriel Young Bear, Prairie Band Ag Operations Manager, and Jacob “Tug” Wamego, Prairie Band LLC President and CEO gathered at the groundbreaking ceremony of the new hemp operations site on the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation Common Land.