O’Neil Family Farms grows a variety of grain and oilseed products on our farmland properties in Morgan and Cass County, Illinois and Teton County, Montana.  

• Corn – Corn is the world's most important grain, based on production volume, and the United States is the largest producer worldwide.  Iowa and Illinois, the top corn-producing states, typically account for one-third or more of the U.S. crop. Not surprisingly, corn is O'Neil Family Farms' most important crop.  We typically grow yellow dent corn, which ultimately is used in livestock feed and is processed into a multitude of food and industrial products including starch, sweeteners, corn oil, beverage and industrial alcohol, and fuel ethanol.  However, we've also grown specialty varieties such as white corn, hard-endo corn, and high-oil corn in the past and are continually evaluating additional specialty contracts.

• Soybeans – Illinois continues to top the nation in soybean production, according to USDA estimates, and in fact, if Illinois were a country, it would rank as the fourth largest soybean-producing country in the world, after the United States, Brazil and Argentina.  Soybeans are the second-most-important crop for O’Neil Family Farms and are grown at our Illinois farms.  Most of our bean production eventually goes toward livestock feed, given its rich protein, fiber, and nutrient contents, but our beans also are crushed to make oil, which is used in everything from salad dressing to mayonnaise to the soy ink used to print textbooks and newspapers.

• Wheat – Wheat ranks third among U.S. field crops in planted acreage, production, and gross farm receipts, behind corn and soybeans. Wheat plantings and production have been on the decline in the U.S., and our nation’s share of the global wheat market has been trading lower over the past two decades as the European Union and Russia have risen in prominence.  Nevertheless, there always will be a market for wheat, which – when ground into flour – remains the main ingredient in staple foods like bread and pastas.  Much of our wheat is shipped overseas, through Portland, to very selective Far East buyers who demand high-quality product. Spring wheat and winter wheat are the primary crops grown on our Montana farmland.

• Barley – Corn may account for more than 95% of total U.S. feed grain production and use, but sorghum, barley, and oats also are important feed grains grown domestically.  We often devote some small portion of our acreage to barley, likely the world’s oldest cultivated grain.  Our farmland’s location in Montana’s renowned “Golden Triangle” allows us to capitalize on the primary value-added barley opportunity, which is to produce barley that earns a premium price by meeting the quality requirements for malting purposes and will eventually become an ingredient used by beer brewers.  When you reach for a Budweiser, Bud Light, or other Anheuser-Busch beer, there's a chance that some of our barley may have been used in the brewing process.  Barley that isn’t well suited to human food and malt production is used for livestock feed.