 1925: At age 17, Otto H. Kruse goes to work for El Monte Grain Company as a laborer in the production and delivery of dairy and poultry feeds.
1929: El Monte Grain Company goes out of business; Otto Kruse joins F.F. Booker Wholesale Hay and Grain as a laborer.
1935: F.F. Booker dies in an automobile accident. Otto Kruse is considered the top man in the Company. He purchases and assumes management of the Booker Company. Though in the midst of the depression, with the company of shaky financial ground, Otto successfully restructures the company and later renames it O.H. Kruse Grain & Milling.
1945: O.H. Kruse continues to grow as the California agricultural industry develops. Key to the company’s success is its ability to anticipate and adjust to the evolving commercial livestock markets.
Late 1950s: Urban sprawl forces agricultural livestock populations to move east from Los Angeles and Orange counties to San Bernardino and Riverside counties and O.H. Kruse starts laying the groundwork to adapt accordingly.
1963: After graduating from Kansas State University with a degree in Feed Science, Otto’s oldest son, Ronald Kruse, moves to San Bernardino County and constructs a modern feed mill in Ontario, CA. Production begins immediately upon completion.
 1968: Ronald Kruse becomes Chief Executive of the Company. In addition to perpetuating the Company’s growth in the dairy feed business, Ronald converts the El Monte plant to produce a complete line of sack feeds for horse owners, back yard farmers, and show animal enthusiasts. Ronald works with experts to develop high quality feed according to the proper nutritional guidelines for various species, and to develop a brand name (“Perfection Feeds”) through superior service and consistent quality. O.H. Kruse sack feed is marketed and sold through retail feed stores, with the Company providing technical and sales support. 
Late 1980’s: A third generation of the Kruse family enters the feed industry. Upon graduating from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Ronald’s son, Kevin, is tasked with constructing a modern feed mill in the San Joaquin Valley as the Kruse family determines that central California will see most of the growth in the California dairy and poultry industries. The town of Pixley is selected as the site for the new mill.
1990: With over 400,000 dairy cows, San Bernardino and Riverside counties are, by far, the most concentrated area for milk production in the world. Producing over 60,000 tons of feed per month at its peak to meet the local need, the O.H. Kruse Ontario feed plant becomes the largest commercial feed manufacturing facility in the United States.
1991: The Pixley plant is completed and begins production.
1992: Kevin Kruse becomes president of the company and Company headquarters are moved to Central California.
1994: Due to its strategic location, the Pixley mill experiences rapid growth and is producing over 60,000 tons of feed per month, surpassing the Ontario plant in production. The Ontario plant continues to be affected by urbanization in Southern California, which is rapidly pushing dairy, beef and poultry producers out of the area. Sack feed users come under heavy pressure and are unable to raise animals due to zoning regulations.
1995: With six family members working for O.H. Kruse, the Kruse family becomes concerned about the future of the feed industry. A British firm approaches the family and offers to buy the company at an attractive price and leave the management team in place; the majority of the ownership decides to strike a deal. With the purchase completed, O.H. Kruse falls under the ownership of Tate & Lyle Ltd. dba PM Ag Products. The company continues to operate under the Kruse banner with essentially the same management and personnel, including Kevin Kruse.
2000: Tate & Lyle decide to exit the feed business in the U.S. The Kruse family attempts to buy their old feed business back, but their efforts proved unsuccessful and the company is sold to JD Heiskell Co. of Tulare, California. That same year, an opportunity comes to certain members of the Kruse family to purchase a former Kraft plant in Goshen, California. With the O.H. Kruse name owned by a competitor, the new company is named Western Milling LLC.
2002: JD Heiskell sells the O.H. Kruse Grain & Milling name along with the Perfection brand. Members of the Kruse family purchase these assets and place them under the operating care of Western Milling. 
2007: Western Milling completes construction of the Famoso site and begins production immediately.
2009: Western Milling acquires a commodity storage facility in Grimes, California from Oilseeds International.
2011: Western Milling acquires Vaquero Supplement Company of Silver Springs, NV, and begins operating the facility as Western Feed Supplements (WFS). WFS specializes in the manufacture of minerals, pressed blocks and cooked molasses tubs for the beef, dairy, equine, goat and sheep industries, offering branded and private label products, as well as custom formulas. The acquisition creates a strategic advantage that allows WFS and Western Milling to better meet the needs of their customers.
From the day that Western Milling opened for business, the company has experienced phenomenal growth. As Western gears up for the competitive environment that awaits us in the future, we remain mindful of the core values and primary success factors that got us where we are today. We are only as good as our people, who are our primary resource and asset. Just as working as one team brought us great success in the past, we know our people will be the key to our success in the future.
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