WHAT WE DO
We are a progressive, family-owned farming operation located in Ridgway, Illinois. Today we exist as two entities, Maloney Farms Inc. specializing in row crop and Maloney Cattle Company, specializing in feed and cattle production. Value, education, and passion are extremely important in our organization. We care about the success of our customers just as we do our own organization.
MALONEY CATTLE COMPANY
When we started Maloney Cattle Company in 2018, we wanted to help other cattle feeders like us. With Luke’s background in feeding cattle and commodity trading, we set out to provide value, consistency, and reliable delivery on load lot feed commodities to beef producers like us. Feed is one of the most expensive costs and the largest driver in profitability in any beef budget, so we understand how crucial it is to your success. In addition to selling feed and preconditioning cattle, we also opened a feedmill in 2024 with 7 bays and 1 bin where we mix custom feed rations.
MALONEY FARMS INCORPORATED
Our grain operation has been in the Maloney family for six generations, currently operated by Kevin Maloney and his son Luke. Our main focus is on corn, soybean, and wheat production in both Gallatin and White Counties in Illinois. We strive to practice land preservation and implement practices that offer the greatest return.
MALONEY GRAIN
Built on a strong background in agriculture and grain merchandising, Maloney Grain was created to provide local farmers with another dependable option for marketing and moving their grain.
With Luke Maloney’s experience in grain merchandising and a firsthand understanding of the needs of today’s producers, we expanded our agricultural operations in the fall of 2026 with the addition of Maloney Grain.
WHY DO WE FARM?
A Message from Kevin
We’ve always done-it’s in our blood. I can’t imagine a non-family member farming this ground. And for that reason, we have probably made some decisions that were not the most economical but to further the goal of passing this heritage on to the next generations. So we do things that protect the land for the future. There’s an old saying that we are don’t inherit the land from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children. When I was young we didn’t have the technology to control weeds that we have today. Lots of tillage was the only solution. I saw erosion that filled ditches that constantly required maintenance to keep flowing. Our topsoil-our livelihoods-was washing away. Through my college years the drainage here was terrible (I suppose that’s why it’s called Pond Settlement). The drainage ditches had been neglected for years and everyone was blaming someone else for their problems. As the farms consolidated and fewer people were confronted with this problem it became easier (relatively) to get them all in a room and work out a solution. We had drainage districts (taxing bodies at the county level) but they didn’t have enough funding to do the major cleanout that was necessary. So several of us took it upon ourselves to pay for the work and that’s how we got it done. The drainage districts are still underfunded but we are attempting to raise the taxes to be able to keep up with annual legal and maintenance costs. Once we got the ditches flowing again it became apparent how they became filled with sediment in the first place. This required stabilizing areas where water left the fields into the main ditches. While it seems we are never done with this it is better than it used to be and why we have an annual farm budget item for drainage maintenance and improvement.