From Grain Production to Better Animal Nutrition
As American agriculture expanded in the late 19th century, farmers continued looking for ways to improve the production and quality of grain. But by the 1880s and 1890s, agricultural innovation was increasingly moving beyond crop production and toward livestock.
Farmers and agricultural businesses were paying greater attention to animal production and meat quality, creating opportunities for companies focused on improving animal nutrition and feed.
One of the entrepreneurs who entered this emerging field was William Danforth, who would go on to play an important role in the history of American animal feed.
William Danforth Establishes Purina Mills
In 1894, William Danforth established an animal feed company known as Purina Mills. The company was part of a growing effort to provide farmers with feed designed to support livestock production.
Danforth’s work reflected a broader transformation taking place in American agriculture. As farming became increasingly commercialized, producers were looking for more consistent and effective ways to raise animals and improve the quality of meat entering the marketplace.
The development of specialized animal-feed businesses helped connect agricultural production with emerging ideas about nutrition, efficiency and livestock performance.
The Partnership That Created Ralston Purina
Danforth later partnered with Webster Edgerly, the founder of a cereal company known as Ralston Breakfast Cereals.
The partnership brought together two businesses connected to America’s changing food and agricultural industries. One was focused on animal feed, while the other was involved in cereal production.
In 1902, the company name was changed to the Ralston Purina Company, establishing the name that would become widely recognized in the American food and agricultural industries.
The company’s identity would soon become closely associated with one of the most recognizable corporate symbols in American agriculture and food marketing: the checkerboard logo.
An Agricultural Legacy
The story of William Danforth, Purina Mills and the formation of Ralston Purina illustrates how American agriculture was evolving at the turn of the 20th century.
What began during a period of expanding grain production increasingly included a focus on livestock nutrition, animal production and meat quality. Businesses such as Purina helped develop commercial animal-feed markets while reflecting the broader modernization of American agriculture.
The creation of Ralston Purina in 1902 marked another important step in that history, bringing together agricultural and food interests under a single company name that would become familiar to generations of Americans.
This chapter of agricultural history demonstrates how innovations in farming were not limited to tractors, harvesting equipment or crop production. Improvements in animal feed and livestock nutrition also played an important role in shaping the modern agricultural industry.
This history segment was presented by Mark Oppold as part of the American Agriculture History Minute.