MANHATTAN, Kan. — Two area companies joined the Kansas Department of Agriculture in hosting two State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) Grant trade missions to Kyiv, Ukraine, for the AGRO 2019 expo.

Shield Ag equipment of Hutchinson and Moridge Company of Moundridge were part of a trade mission designed to introduce their products to an international audience.

“The STEP Grant was designed to help small businesses expand their exports. We’ve been fortunate in Kansas to have received the STEP grant to help Kansas farmers, ranchers and agribusinesses to explore new markets or increase the value of export sales in existing markets,” Suzanne Ryan-Numrich, international trade director at KDA, said.

The trade missions were sponsored by KDA and funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration using a STEP grant in cooperation with the Kansas Department of Commerce.

The Kansas Department of Agriculture is dedicated to providing an environment that enhances and encourages economic growth of the agriculture industry and the Kansas economy including the further development and expansion of marketing opportunities for agricultural goods and services around the globe.

The KDA is offering an upcoming opportunity for Kansas farmers, ranchers and agribusinesses to participate in a livestock genetic trade mission to Uruguay this fall from Sept. 10-16. Interested parties should contact Ryan-Numrich at 785-564-6704.