Dale W. Mc Millen - Wayne Feeds

Wayne Feeds

Researchers at Ohio State University and other land-grant colleges were seeking to modernize the agricultural industry through their system of county extension agents, and one of the things they were promoting was better nutrition for livestock.

Complete feeds, however, were pricey. McMillen viewed this as am opportunity. He bought a small elevator in Fort Wayne, Indiana, 40 miles (64 km) NW of Van Wert, and started Wayne Feeds to produce a concentrate of the protein, vitamins and minerals that were lacking in regular feed. A farmer would grind 70 pounds of his own grain with 30 pounds of the feed supplement to make a high-quality feed ration that could be profitably fed.

At this time, there was a growing interest in soybeans. Soybeans are a legume; bacteria nodules on the roots of legumes turn atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia through a process called nitrogen "fixing", enriching the soil. This alone made soybeans useful in crop rotation, but soybeans were known to be high in protein and vegetable oil as well.

The protein looked especially good to McMillen. A. E. Staley Manufacturing Company, established in 1922, was one of the first companies to succeed with soybean crushing mills. Another pioneer in the field was the American Milling Company in 1927. Wayne Feeds was profitable; American Milling had potential. They merged in 1929 to form Allied Mills, with McMillen as the first president. Allied Mills and Wayne Feeds are now part of Ridley Corporation, an Australian company.