The DeLong Company

What The DeLong Company does

The DeLong Co., Inc. is a sixth-generation, family-owned agricultural services company founded in 1913 and headquartered in Clinton, Wisconsin. The company operates six integrated divisions—Agronomy, Seed, Grain, Exports, Transport, and Wholesale—across 39 facilities in eight U.S. states (Wisconsin, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, New York, New Jersey, Ohio, and Virginia) and serves agricultural producers, wholesale buyers, and international food processors. DeLong is the #1 U.S. exporter of containerized agricultural products and ranks #4 overall in total U.S. container exports (Journal of Commerce, 2025). The company also operates ancillary divisions in crop insurance (DeLco Crop Insurance, launched December 2023), direct-to-farm input supply (DeLong Direct Ag, December 2025), grain marketing risk management (Yield365), organic fertilizer (DeLong Organics / Chick Magic), and a USDA-backed climate-smart agriculture program (Grown Climate Smart, launched 2023 under a $40M USDA grant).

DeLong's core operations span the full agricultural value chain. The Grain division buys, stores, and markets corn, soybeans, and wheat sourced from local farmers—including identity-preserved white and yellow food-grade corn and Plenish high-oleic soybean specialty programs—through a network of country elevators and export terminals. The Agronomy division distributes liquid and dry fertilizers, agrochemicals, and custom application services, supported by the DeLong Agronomy App (powered by Grower360 technology) and a 60,000 sq ft Ottawa, Illinois warehouse operating as the DeLong Direct Ag hub. The Seed division serves as a Pioneer (Corteva) brand dealer offering field-by-field hybrid placement and custom seed treatments. The Exports division operates containerized and bulk shipping from the Milwaukee maritime terminal, the Edgerton (Kansas) transload facility at Logistics Park-Kansas City, the Newark export site, and (under construction) the Portsmouth, Virginia intermodal export facility. The Wholesale division distributes livestock feed, pet food, and wild birdseed to farm stores, garden centers, and pet supply shops across Wisconsin, Illinois, and northern Indiana. Captive transportation is provided through DeLco Transport (own fleet of vans, hoppers, dumpers, tankers) and the Direct Transport owner-operator lease-to-own program.

Revenue is generated almost entirely through transaction fees across grain trading, agronomy products, seed sales, wholesale feed distribution, export commissions, transportation services, and crop insurance commissions; pricing is largely quote-based and negotiated through direct field-sales teams, agronomists, and merchandisers rather than publicly published. Customer base is highly fragmented across thousands of individual farmer SMBs (primary segment), supplemented by enterprise customers including domestic millers, livestock feeders, and international food processors in Europe, Asia, Mexico, and Canada. The company is ranked #28 on Deloitte's Wisconsin75 list of top privately-owned Wisconsin businesses (2025), has been recognized as a Top 100 Agronomy Dealer every year since 1985, received the Governor's Export Achievement Award in 2025, and earned consecutive Top Workplace honors (2026).

Name

The DeLong Company

Legal name

The DeLong Co., Inc.

Website

https://delongcompany.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1913

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The DeLong Co., Inc. is a sixth-generation, family-owned agricultural services company that distributes grain, seeds, fertilizer, agrochemicals, and containerized exports to farmers, food processors, and wholesale buyers across 39 facilities in eight U.S. states.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Services

NAICS

Farm Product Warehousing and Storage (493130)

SIC

Wholesale-Groceries, General Line (5141)

akta.pro primary industry

Bulk Ingredient Logistics, Storage & Transloading (Food Commodities) (AFAIAKAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Starches, Flours & Milling Products Trading/Wholesale (AFAIAKAH)

Keywords

• Agricultural commodity distribution
• Grain marketing services
• Agronomy products supply
• Seed wholesale distribution
• Agricultural container exports

Headquarters

HQ city

Clinton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices20 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Grain Trading and Marketing: Commercial grain business focusing on buying, storing, and marketing corn, soybeans, and wheat sourced directly from local farmers. Grains are delivered to domestic millers, livestock feeders, and exported globally.
2. Agronomy Products and Services: Full line of liquid and dry fertilizers, agrochemicals (herbicides, fungicides, insecticides), custom application services, and crop management solutions including precision agriculture.
3. Seed Sales and Services: Pioneer Seed Dealer and full-line seed wholesaler offering corn, soybeans, wheat, alfalfa, forage inoculants, cover crops, and custom seed treatments.
4. Agricultural Exports: Containerized and bulk agricultural product exports. The company is the #1 U.S. exporter of containerized agricultural products and #4 overall in total U.S. container exports in 2025.
5. Wholesale Feed and Products: Wholesale distribution of livestock feed, pet food, wild birdseed, horticultural supplies, and agricultural chemicals to farm stores, garden centers, and pet supply shops.
6. Transportation Services: DeLco Transport provides fleet services with vans, hoppers, dumpers, and tankers for agricultural logistics. Direct Transport offers owner-operator lease-to-own programs.
7. Crop Insurance: DeLco Crop Insurance operates as an independent insurance agency offering Federal Crop Insurance, Livestock Insurance, and private products.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels8 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The DeLong Co. is a vertically integrated agricultural company that buys, stores, and markets grain (corn, soybeans, wheat) from local farmers, distributes crop inputs (fertilizers, agrochemicals, seed), operates the #1 U.S. containerized agricultural export business, provides transportation and logistics services, and runs wholesale feed and pet food distribution. The company operates six divisions: Agronomy, Seed, Grain, Exports, Transport, and Wholesale, serving farmers, food manufacturers, and international buyers across 39 facilities in eight U.S. states with sales reaching Europe, Asia, Mexico, and Canada.

Product overview

The DeLong Co., Inc. is a multigenerational agricultural company operating six core divisions: Agronomy, Seed, Grain, Exports, Transport, and Wholesale. The Agronomy division encompasses full-service crop input products and precision agriculture through the Agronomy App, organic fertilizer via Chick Magic brand, and the new DeLong Direct Ag direct-to-farm input model. The Seed division serves as a Pioneer Seed Dealer providing seeds and custom treatments. The Grain division includes commercial grain handling with food-grade programs, the Yield365 risk management service, and the High Oleic Soybean Program. Exports leverages the company's position as the #1 U.S. containerized agricultural exporter through bulk and container facilities including the Milwaukee Maritime Export Facility. Transport includes DeLco Transport fleet operations and Direct Transport owner-operator program. The Wholesale division distributes feed, pet food, and birdseed products. Supporting these is the Grown Climate Smart sustainability initiative and DeLco Crop Insurance agency.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Chick Magic: Organic fertilizer product line made from processed chicken manure, available in pellets and crumbles for agricultural and horticultural use
• Plenish High Oleic Soybean Program

Products and services

• DeLong Agronomy
• DeLong Seed
• DeLong Grain
• DeLong Exports
• DeLco Transport
• Direct Transport
• DeLong Wholesale
• Chick Magic Organic Fertilizer
• DeLong Direct Ag
• DeLco Crop Insurance
• Yield365 Grain Marketing
• Grown Climate Smart Program
• DeLong Agronomy App
• High Oleic Soybean Program
• Grain Contracts
• Grain Bids by Text
• Grain Account Portal

Quantifiable outcome

• Distributed $6.3 million in climate-smart incentive funds to local growers in 2024
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Boa Safra AgminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Partnership to help agricultural landowners reduce tax burden through Section 180 program.
• Ottawa Plant FoodminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2025DeLong acquired assets of Ottawa Plant Food in Ottawa, IL, expanding footprint and launching DeLong Direct Ag division for direct-to-farm ag chemical supply.
• Caliber Crop Insurance Solutions LLCminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 December 2025Sub-agency partnership for crop insurance services announced December 2025.
• Gold Star Feed & Grain LLCminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2024Acquired Sangerfield, NY grain elevator from Gold Star Feed & Grain LLC, expanding operations in New York.
• Silver Spur Insurance ServicesminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 December 2023Sub-agency partnership with Aubrey Ward for crop insurance services.
• Norgaard Agency, Inc.minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 December 2023Sub-agency partnership with Will Peasley for crop insurance services.
• USDA - Advancing Markets for ProducerscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021$40M USDA grant backing the Grown Climate Smart program to incentivize climate-smart agriculture practices among growers. Program distributes per-acre payments to farmers adopting regenerative practices.
• Daybreak FoodscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDaybreak Foods supplies pure laying hen manure from family-owned farms for Chick Magic Ag Organic Fertilizer production. The processed chicken manure creates an OMRI-listed organic fertilizer product marketed by DeLong Co.
• Pioneer Seeds (Corteva)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDeLong Co. operates as a Pioneer Seed Dealer offering extensive selection of Pioneer seed varieties and traits alongside custom seed services.
• Port MilwaukeecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPublic-private partnership for the DeLong Agricultural Maritime Export Facility on Jones Island, the first of its kind on the Great Lakes. Largest one-time investment in Port Milwaukee since the 1950s.
• Ag Brokerage Solutions (ABS)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDeLco Crop Insurance is an approved ABS agent providing customized Agribusiness Insurance for all facets of ag business.

Scale indicators15 records

Recent moves13 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• CHS Inc. CHS Inc. is the largest U.S. farmer-owned cooperative, operating integrated agronomy, grain, energy, and feed businesses across the Midwest. Highly comparable to DeLong's vertically integrated model across seed-to-export, but operates at significantly greater national scale.
• Scoular: Scoular is a privately held, employee-owned agricultural commodity trader specializing in grain handling, logistics, and exports. Directly comparable to DeLong in private-company structure, grain merchandising focus, and trading/logistics capabilities.
• Growmark: Growmark is a Midwestern regional agricultural cooperative providing grain, agronomy, seed, and energy services to farmers. Comparable to DeLong's Midwest-anchored, multi-division cooperative-style service offering.
• Consolidated Grain and Barge (CGB): CGB operates a nationwide network of grain elevators and river/barge export terminals serving farmers and global traders. Highly comparable to DeLong's grain merchandising and export infrastructure model.
• Bartlett and Company: Bartlett is a private, employee-owned agribusiness engaged in grain origination, storage, processing, and cattle feeding. Comparable to DeLong as a privately held grain merchandiser with multi-state infrastructure.

Broad incumbents

• Cargill: Cargill is the world's largest privately held agricultural commodities trader and processor, with broad grain, oilseed, and animal nutrition businesses. Overlaps with DeLong in grain trading and exports but operates globally at vastly larger scale.
• Archer Daniels Midland (ADM): ADM is a global agribusiness leader in oilseed processing, grain merchandising, and nutrition. Comparable to DeLong's grain trading and export activities but serves vastly broader end-markets and geographies.
• Bunge Global: Bunge is a leading global agribusiness and food company specializing in oilseed processing and grain merchandising. Overlaps with DeLong in grain origination and exports, with broader geographic and processing footprint.

Regional players

• Heartland Co-op: Heartland Co-op is an Iowa-based farmer-owned cooperative offering grain, agronomy, and feed services. Comparable to DeLong in integrated Midwest ag services model, though concentrated in Iowa rather than Wisconsin/Illinois.
• Landus Cooperative: Landus is an Iowa farmer-owned cooperative providing grain, agronomy, and animal nutrition services. Similar cooperative-style integrated ag offering to DeLong, though operating primarily in Iowa rather than DeLong's Wisconsin/Illinois footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/delongcompany
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@delongco
• Facebookfacebook.com/delongseeddivision
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/delong-trucking-inc

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Subsidiaries9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The DeLong Company