ND Ag Hall Of Fame Inductees

Brian O'Toole

Brian O’Toole traveled the world promoting U.S. wheat and North Dakota-grown wheat in particular.

O’Toole is a partner in T.E. O’Toole Farms, a sixth-generation Centennial Farm in Pembina County. O’Toole served for 12 years on the North Dakota Wheat Commission and is remembered for his unwavering support for the development of hard red spring wheat varieties that upheld a reputation for high quality.

His passion for wheat and wheat promotion caused him to move through the chairs of U.S. Wheat Associates (USW), eventually becoming chairman in 2015. U.S. Wheat Associates is the industry’s market development organization, working to expand the market for U.S. wheat in more than 100 countries.

During his service on the state Wheat Commission and USW, O’Toole traveled on trade missions to twenty-three of those countries, including Cuba, a market that had been closed to U.S. citizens for fifty years.

Additional industry involvement by O’Toole includes chairing the ND Crop Improvement and Seed Association and the State Board of Agricultural Research and Extension’s Wheat Granting Committee. He served for 16 years at the Wheat Marketing Center in Portland, Oregon.

O’Toole and his wife Sara farm with a son, daughter and son-in law. He is president of O’Toole Seed, a family-owned seed company. He has received Outstanding Young Farmer, Master Farmer, and Premier Seed Grower Awards.

Year Inducted: 2024