Iowa State University’s Kent Feed Mill and Grain Science Complex delivers hands-on training in commercial-style feed manufacturing, grain handling and storage as it enters its second year of operation. The $35 million facility, built with private donations along U.S. Highway 30, combines a 100-foot concrete milling tower, a 40-foot thermal processing plant, a pilot plant, a quality analysis laboratory and more than 220,000 bushels of grain storage capacity across seven bins.

The complex is designed to link campus crops and livestock programs: harvested corn from the student-run Ag 450 farm is processed into feed for swine, poultry, turkey, dairy and beef, while proximity to animal facilities lets students move quickly between classrooms, production lines and animal operations. The large mill turns out roughly 180 to 220 tons of feed per week, and the pilot plant produces small experimental batches for nutrition and feed-processing research.

Storage systems are equipped with continuous sensors monitoring temperature, moisture and carbon dioxide, and production systems collect equipment performance and energy-use data. The site employs 25 undergraduates in a corporate-sponsored trainee program that blends internship and apprenticeship elements; eight seniors and two prior graduates gained employment after participating, and 15 new trainees joined this summer. The complex also supports a 15-credit feed technology minor and serves as a training center for industry professionals and emergency responders, hosting more than 2,000 visitors last year.