Reputation Matters A reputation is not a gift — it is earned over time. Gage A. Kent was a visionary who in 1927 sought to do things differently as he worked with his own cattle. His idea was to raise calves on a quality feed made from nutritious ingredients, not loaded with fillers. This seemingly simple notion gave rise to an enduring core value of one of the most trusted feed brands in America. And with that, Kent quality was born. Originating in the Central-Iowa farming community of Indianola, Gage Kent revolutionized the cattle feeding industry with Kent Baby Beef™, the first “Feed Without a Filler” formula. This advancement was key to the success and growth of the Kent brand and set new industry standards that catapulted Kent into a true leadership position among feed companies. Following a fire that destroyed the mill in Indianola, Gage Kent established headquarters in Muscatine, Iowa, to take advantage of Mississippi River transportation. Over nine decades later, the Kent brand continues to pioneer new ways to feed America’s livestock with an 800-acre research facility and a team of industry-leading Ph.D. nutritionists. Over the years, Kent has continued to expand its product offerings with new swine, beef, dairy, poultry, specialty and pet products. As the market for Kent products has grown, additional plants were built to meet demand. Today, Kent Nutrition Group operates plants in Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, Nebraska, Missouri, Indiana, New York, Maryland, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Like our founder, we focus on innovation, prove its value with research, then formulate, manufacture, deliver and service products that surpass customer expectations. That’s how we earned a reputation that people trust — generation after generation. 1927 Gage A. Kent develops Baby Beef, the original “Feed Without A Filler” using only quality ingredients, and begins manufacturing at a mill in the central Iowa farming community of Indianola. 1936 After fire destroys the Indianola mill, Kent moves his feed enterprise to Muscatine, Iowa on the banks of the Mississippi River. This allows the company to take advantage of the economical river transportation. 1943 Gage A. Kent and S.G. Stein form Grain Processing Corporation (GPC), build a grain alcohol manufacturing plant in Muscatine to supply the synthetic rubber program during World War II. After leasing the plant for a decade, GPC purchased the facility from the government in 1953. 1952 Kent constructs a modern feed manufacturing plant in Muscatine to meet increasing Midwest demand. 1955 Kent Feeds buys the first acres for a Product Development Center where feeding trials are conducted by a staff of nutritionists and farm management specialists to evaluate ingredients and new feed formulations and provide research-proven products to producers. 1956 Kent Precision Beef Feeds, Kent Seasonized Dairy and Poultry Feeds, along with Kent Roto-Biotic Action Swine Feeds prove that Kent Feeds are “Years Ahead Through Research” for Midwestern producers. 1958 Kent builds a revolutionary Feed-Matic Plant in Sioux City, Iowa, introducing an industry-first bagging machine that weighs out the finished feed, selects a bag automatically and fills it in one operation, then tags and sews the bag closed. 1961 Kent constructs a second Feed-Matic plant in Waterloo, Iowa, and introduces an industry-first “Micro-Matic Blending” process for bringing all micro-nutrients and additives into the finished ration at maximum strength. 1964 Kent builds a plant in Rockford, Illinois. 1966 Kent introduces Flav-R-Ized Pig Nuggets, an improved version of its famous Pig Nuggets. 1967 Kent introduces the NRB (No Roughage Beef) Cattle Feeding Program and GM Base Supplement for grinding and mixing hog rations. Kent adds two plants, one in Altoona, Iowa, and another in Estherville, Iowa. 1969 Kent builds a plant in Beardstown, Illinois. 1972 Gage Kent’s son, James H. Kent, assumes leadership of the company after his father’s death. 1973 Kent introduces its “Money-Back Guarantee” on up to two tons of every feed it sells or $200 of animal care products, becoming the only major feed company to guarantee every feed it sells. 1976 Kent builds a plant in Marshall, Missouri. 1977 Kent builds a plant in Logansport, Indiana. 1979 Throughout the ’70s, Kent introduces a series of research-based feeding programs and systems to improve the performance of animals and the profitability of livestock producers, including the +1 Sow Feeding Program, All-American Pork System and Stage 4 Beef Feeding System with PNP (Protected Natural Protein). 1983 Kent Feeds Inc. acquires Evergreen Mills to serve customers in Oklahoma and Texas as well as parts of New Mexico, Arkansas, Louisiana and Kansas. 1984 Kent adds a plant in Columbus, Nebraska. 1986 Kent Feeds completes extensive remodeling of a plant in Louisville, Kentucky, to manufacture feed and endo-thermal molasses products. 1987 Kent Feeds introduces the industry’s first and only unconditional 6-Ton Money-Back Guarantee on its quality animal nutrition products. 1989 Kent builds a plant in Mason, Michigan. 1995 Kent launches an advertising and public relations campaign called “Enjoy Pork Often” in 14 states to help support a sagging pork industry. 2010 Blue Seal Feeds of Londonderry, New Hampshire, merges with Kent Feeds, Inc. of Muscatine, Iowa, to form Kent Nutrition Group (KNG). KNG was formed to bring out the best in these two highly successful regional feed companies. 2015 Kent Nutrition Group introduces a new modified regional brand strategy making Blue Seal the KNG brand in the Eastern United States and Kent the KNG brand in the Midwest. 2016 The KNG manufacturing plant at Rockford, Illinois, is named “2015 Feed Mill of the Year” by the American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) and Feedstuffs newspaper. 2016 KNG acquires Deluxe Feeds, with locations in Sheldon and Ireton, Iowa. The facilities will provide more products and services to customers in northwestern Iowa — one of the most densely populated livestock production areas in the world. 2017 A new, state-of-the-art swine research facility opened at the Kent Nutrition Group Product Development Center. 2017 Groundbreaking is held for the new KNG manufacturing facility in Sheldon, Iowa. 2017 Kent Corporation makes an $8 million commitment to the new Grain Science and Feed Mill facility at Iowa State University (ISU) in Ames, Iowa. 2018 Gage Kent and Jimmy Kent were invited to join President Trump and Vice President Pence at the “Made in America” product showcase at the White House. 2018 The Kent Innovation Center opened on the Research Park campus of Iowa State University (ISU) in Ames, Iowa. 2019 Kent Corporation, parent company of Kent Nutrition Group (KNG), attends the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Kent Corporation Feed Mill and Grain Science Complex at Iowa State University (ISU) in Ames, Iowa.
