American Agriculture History Minute: Ralston Purina Company Formed

I’m Mark Opel with an American Agriculture History Minute.

As American agriculture expanded, farmers continued to make improvements in their production of grain, and by the late 1880s, 1890s, attention focused on improving animal production and meat quality.

Enter William Danforth, who in 1894 established an animal feed company, Purina Mills. Danforth later partnered with Webster Edderley, founder of a cereal company, Ralston Breakfast Cereals, and in 1902, the name was changed to Ralston Purina Company, and the checkerboard logo would soon follow.

That’s today’s American Agriculture History Minute. I’m Mark Oppold. Thanks for reading. I’ll see you next time.