Kent Feeds

History of Kent Feeds

The Kent Feeds story began in 1927 in the central Iowa farming community of Indianola. It was there that Gage Kent started manufacturing Kent Baby Beef™, the original "Feed Without A Filler."

With the introduction of this new feed, Kent revolutionized the cattle feeding industry. Before Baby Beef™, most cattle feeds were formulated with little regard for nutritional needs. Kent Baby Beef™ was manufactured with only top-quality ingredients and no filler materials, setting a new standard for the industry.

Kent's feed mill flourished in Indianola, and in 1936 he moved his steadily-growing company to Muscatine, Iowa, to take advantage of economical Mississippi River transportation.

In addition to his feed business, in 1943 Gage Kent joined forces with a prominent Muscatine businessman, to found Grain Processing Corporation (GPC). This corn processing plant was built to produce industrial alcohol for the manufacture of synthetic rubber needed in the war effort. When the war ended, the plant continued to operate, producing industrial and beverage alcohol, starch, and maltodextrins. A second corn processing plant was built near Washington, Indiana, opening in 1999. Today GPC is one of the largest corn processors in the nation.

Kent Feeds built a modern feed manufacturing plant in Muscatine in 1952 to meet increasing demand. This facility, constructed with a production capacity of 720 tons of feed per day. Today, this facility is owned and operated by GPC to meet its growing demand for consumer products. As the company continued its rapid growth and added new swine, beef, dairy, poultry, specialty feeds, and an animal care line to its growing family of quality products, other Kent plants were constructed. Additional Kent plants were built in Sioux City, Iowa, in 1958; Waterloo, Iowa, in 1961; Rockford, Illinois, in 1964; Altoona, Iowa, in 1967; Beardstown, Illinois, in 1969; Marshall, Missouri, in 1976; Logansport, Indiana, in 1977; and Columbus, Nebraska, in 1984. A plant acquired in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1986, was extensively remodeled to manufacture Kent Feeds and endo-thermal molasses products.. The opening of the Mason, Michigan, manufacturing facility in 1989 brought the total number of Kent Feeds plants to ten.

Kent Feeds is dedicated to the same attitude and work ethic as its dealers and customers. Commitment to quality, research, dealer training, and customer satisfaction has made Kent Feeds a leader in the livestock feeding industry. Quality is ensured with Kent's Six-Ton Money-Back Guarantee. Kent dealers and customers can count on Kent for consistent, high-quality, precision-made feeds.

Today Kent Feeds, Inc., and Grain Processing Corporation are owned by Muscatine Foods Corporation, a private, family owned corporation. Other feed manufacturing companies under the Muscatine Foods Corporation umbrella are Blue Seal Feeds, Inc., of Londonderry, New Hampshire, and Evergreen Mills, of Ada, Oklahoma, a division of Kent Feeds.

Gage Kent's original idea when he started making Baby Beef™ was to provide a top-quality product that would enable farmers to increase their livestock production potential and profits. This basic concept has prevailed throughout the history of the company and has helped make its tremendous growth possible. 

Kent Feeds also owns and operates a 650-acre Product Development Center complex a few miles from Muscatine, along the Mississippi River. The first acres were purchased in 1955. At this facility, feeding trials are conducted to evaluate feed ingredients and new feed formulations. The major objective of the Kent Product Development Center is to develop feeds and feeding programs that will improve animal efficiency, thus allowing the livestock producer to obtain a maximum return on investment. Only after a product has been thoroughly tested at our facilities does it receive the Kent label and the Kent guarantee of product satisfaction. Through research, "The Feed Without A Filler" has grown into a complete line of guaranteed products. Today the red, yellow, and black Kent logo is proudly displayed by dealers in thirteen states across the Midwest.