Bartlett Grain holds grand opening for grain export facility in Sheffield

Bartlett Grain Company on Thursday held a grand opening for a new state-of-the-art grain export facility in Bureau County, a news release says.

Because of high winds and inclement weather, the Bartlett open house was moved from the facility to the McCormick Event Center at 205 E. 3rd, Rock Falls, for safety reasons.

Bartlett’s Sheffield site, in addition to the grain elevator complex, features high-speed grain load and unload, and grain drying and rail unit train (110 rail cars) capabilities. The Union Pacific Railroad provides rail services for the facility and, in addition to domestic markets, will support Bartlett’s role as a leading U.S. exporter of grain to Mexico. The plant’s location also
provides easy access to Illinois Highways 40 and I-80.

The new facility will create more than 25 permanent jobs and has supported more than $50 million of economic activity and additional jobs during its construction, which began in early 2025.

This facility is strategically located in one of the largest corn-producing regions in the United States and is expected to be open prior to the fall harvest. The Bartlett Sheffield grain complex is in the Bureau-Putnam Counties Enterprise Zone.

“Bartlett is committed to providing a strong, positive impact benefiting jobs, local grain production and distribution, and the significant expansion of access to export grain markets for North Central Illinois farmers,” said Joe Grifitth, Bartlett Grain president.

About Bartlett

Established in 1907, Bartlett joined the Savage family of companies in 2018. Its diverse agribusiness is focused on the acquisition, storage, transportation, processing and merchandising of grain.

Bartlett owns and operates grain handling and processing, and flour milling assets in Illinois, Missoui, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, North Dakota, Minnesota and North Carolina, as well as provinces and states in Canada and Mexico. The company is a leading U.S. exporter of grain to Mexico. Bartlett produces a broad range of flour to meet its customers’ needs and plays an important and growing role in the food and renewable fuel sector with its soybean processing capability. For more information, visit here.

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