Ardent Mills was born out of a long history of community mills coming together. We are an independent joint venture by combining ConAgra Mills™ and Horizon Milling® and we have over 150 years of rich milling history. Our history is tied to the legacies of the individual mills and facilities that form us, and we’re proud to look towards the future with an appreciation of the past.
1867
With a newly constructed steam-powered mill in Grand Island, Nebraska, Henry Koenig and Frederick Wiebe form State Central Flouring Mill. The business is later sold to Henry Glade and renamed Henry Glade Milling Company.
1919
Four Nebraska flour mills – Henry Glade Milling Company, Ravenna Mills, Hastings Mills and Blackburn-Fury Mills – consolidate and incorporate as Nebraska Consolidated Mills, headquartered in Grand Island, Nebraska.
1922
Seeking better access to grain markets and rail networks, the company moves its headquarters to Omaha, Nebraska.
1929
North Pacific Grain Growers (NPGG) is formed in Lewiston, Idaho.
1931
Farmers Union Central Exchange is formed in St. Paul, Minnesota.
1938
GTA is formed in St. Paul, Minnesota
1941
Nebraska Consolidated Mills expands outside Nebraska, building a new flour mill in Decatur, Alabama, in 1941.
1942
GTA acquires Amber Milling Company.
1944
Harvest States Milling Co acquires Amber Milling Company in Rush City, Minnesota.
1957
The first expansion outside of the continental U.S. begins with the construction of the Molinos de Puerto Rico feed, flour and corn-milling complex in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico.
1965
Nebraska Consolidated Mills forms a joint venture feed mill in La Coruña, Spain.
1969
A national presence is established with the acquisition of Montana Flour Mills Company.
1971
Nebraska Consolidated Mills shareholders officially approve a new name: ConAgra, Latin for “with the land”.
1972
Cargill acquired two Burrus Mills, Inc. flour mills in Texas.
1974
Cargill acquired three Ross Industries, Inc. flour mills in Kansas.
1982
ConAgra acquires the Peavey Company, becoming the largest publicly held grain merchandiser.
Cargill acquires the domestic flour milling operations of Seaboard Allied Milling Corp, with mills in Albany and Buffalo, New York; Culpeper, Virginia; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Port Allen, Louisiana; Topeka, Kansas; and Jacksonville, Florida.
1983
NPGG and GTA merge to form Harvest States Cooperatives.
1984
Cargill acquires Hubbard Milling Co., in Mankato, Minnesota.
1989
Cargill builds a new flour mill in San Bernadino, California.
Harvest States Milling Co. enters into a joint venture with Miller Milling Co., giving it control of the Huron, Ohio mill.
1991
Cargill acquires four Pillsbury Co. flour mills in Los Angeles, California; Lake City, Minnesota; Ogden, Utah; and Springfield, Illinois.
1992
Cargill builds a new flour mill in Stockton, California.
1994
Harvest States Milling Co. dissolves its partnership with Miller Milling, leaving it with ownership of Huron, Ohio and Rush City, Minnesota mills.
1995
Harvest States Milling Co. begins Kenosha, Wisconsin operations.
1997
Harvest States Milling Co. begins Houston, Texas operations.
1998
Cargill leases the Italgrani flour mill in Ayer, Massachusetts.
Harvest States Cooperatives and Cenex, Inc. merge to form CHS Cooperatives.
1999
ConAgra Foods introduces Sustagrain®, the highest fiber whole grain commercially available. A unique variety of barley, Sustagrain delivers three times the fiber of oats, and 10 times the fiber of brown rice.
Harvest Milling Co. begins Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania operations.
2000
Harvest Milling Co. acquires the Fairmount, North Dakota plant from Dakota Valley Mills.
2001
Cargill Flour Milling and Harvest States Milling announce their intent to form a limited liability company combining their flour milling businesses.
2002
Horizon Milling, LLC is officially formed on January 11, 2002.
2003
CHS Cooperatives is officially renamed CHS Inc.
2004
ConAgra Foods launches UltraGrain® – the whole wheat flour with the taste, texture and mainstream appeal of white flour – and revolutionizes whole wheat foods in grocery stores and foodservice.
2005
Horizon Milling introduces GrainWise™ Wheat Aleurone to help manufacturers add whole wheat nutrition to foods.
Horizon Milling introduces WheatSelect® white spring whole wheat flour to help manufacturers better formulate whole wheat nutrition into foods.
The ConAgra Mills brand is established to differentiate the milling business from ConAgra Foods’ other commercial businesses.
2006
Horizon Milling G.P. is formed to purchase the grain-based foodservice and industrial businesses of Smucker Foods of Canada Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of the J.M. Smucker Company and licenses the rights to Smucker’s Robin Hood® brand for use in Canadian foodservice and industrial channels.
2007
ConAgra Mills introduces Ancient Grains™ – amaranth, quinoa, sorghum, millet, teff and custom multigrain blends – to meet changing consumer needs and continue its tradition of innovation.
2011
Horizon Milling refreshes brand identity to set a firm, confident foundation for future growth with its customers.
MARCH 2013
Ardent Mills is publicly announced as a proposed joint venture between ConAgra Foods, Cargill and CHS.
MAY 2013
We announce the Ardent Mills Way, our vision and values, recognizing that we are united by our passion to nourish our customers with the highest quality ingredients.
JULY 2013
The journey continues when we announce Denver, Colorado as the Ardent Mills future headquarters.
MAY 29, 2014
Ardent Mills’ opening celebrates the many parts coming together to make a stronger whole. Fields of possibility lie ahead of our employees, customers and communities.
FEBRUARY 26, 2015
Ardent Mills joined Field to Market®: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture as an associate member. As a leading multi-stakeholder initiative, Field to Market is working to unite the agricultural supply chain in defining, measuring and advancing sustainability in U.S. food, fiber and fuel production.
JULY 29, 2015
Ardent Mills showcased our one-of-a-kind bakery and newly-named Innovative Bakery Resources (IBR) plant in Tualatin on July 29 with an open house.
SEPTEMBER 1, 2015
Having announced our intent on August 20, Ardent Mills, shared on September 1 that we have finalized the deal to purchase the Mondelēz Canada flour mill located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
DECEMBER 15, 2015
Leading the way to meet growing customer and consumer demand, Ardent Mills announced a new organic initiative committed to helping U.S. wheat growers double organic wheat acres by 2019.
MAY 2016
The Ardent Mills Innovation Center, a culinary, R&D and product development support center with lab-size test mills, a wheat quality lab and a product evaluation bakery, opens in Denver, Colorado.
SEPTEMBER 2016
Ardent Mills announces Simply Milled™, a line of clean label flours with no bleach, bromate or other additives.
JANUARY 19, 2017
Ardent Mills joins Partners in Food Solutions™ as a corporate sponsor to strengthen Africa’s ability to feed its growing population.
MARCH 9, 2017
Ardent Mills introduces Great Plains Quinoa™. Ardent Mills brings predictable pricing and certainty of supply with North American grown quinoa.
MARCH 2017
Women of Wheat (WOW) Employee Resource Group is formed. WOW fosters an equitable and inclusive environment through education, networking, and career development that supports the growth and success of women across Ardent Mills.
JULY 2019
Ardent Mills furthers commitment to organic and specialty grain sourcing by acquiring grain elevator in Klamath Falls, Oregon.
AUGUST 2019
Women in Technology (WiT) Employee Resource Group is formed. WiT supports women at every stage of their career through connection, inspiration, sharing experiences, and development opportunities in an inclusive and collaborative environment.
2019
Ardent Mills successfully led the way to meet growing industry demand for organic flour with our Organic Initiative 2019, which assisted U.S. wheat growers in doubling organic wheat acres.
FEBRUARY 2020
Ardent Mills acquires Andean Naturals' quinoa operations in Yuba City, California, allowing Ardent Mills to offer a complete solution for quinoa and other gluten-free ingredients.
JULY 2020
Ardent Mills announces new Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program to expand on the company’s sustainability initiatives as part of its continued commitment to positively impact the environment and local communities.
SEPTEMBER 2020
Black Excellence at Ardent Mills (BEAM) Employee Resource Group is formed. BEAM works to improve the community within the Ardent Mills family by recruiting diverse employees, providing support and resources to ensure their retention and professional growth, which in turn will create an environment that embraces and celebrates the culture of our black team members. BEAM aims to educate, inspire, and invigorate Ardent Mills and its African American, African Ancestry, Black and culturally identifying employees.
MARCH 2021
Spectrum LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group is formed. Spectrum strives to cultivate a community that is welcoming to all and is equal, inclusive, and diverse for all team members to feel safe, heard, and embraced.
JUNE 2021
Ardent Mills acquires substantially all of the assets of Hinrichs Trading Company (HTC), the North American leader in chickpea sourcing, cleaning and packaging.
JULY 2021
Ardent Mills announces the implementation of Ardent Mills Assist in its facilities across North America. The ready-to-go mixed reality solution, built using Microsoft HoloLens 2 technology, allows Ardent Mills experts to quickly and remotely consult with customers, and increase speed to resolution.
DECEMBER 2021
Ardent Mills acquires substantially all the business assets of Firebird Artisan Mills, a leading gluten-free, specialty grain and pulse milling company.
MARCH 2022
Ardent Mills opens brand-new state-of-the-art Port Redwing Mill in Gibsonton, Florida. The mill builds upon Ardent Mills’ strategic growth plan by strengthening supply chain agility, increasing efficiency and product consistency, and expanding the ability to meet customer needs.
MARCH 2023
Ardent Mills gifts $3.5 million to Kansas State University’s Ag Innovation Initiative. This five-year gift will support the grain science department’s growth, research and development capabilities through 2026.
JUNE 2023
Ardent Mills introduces two innovative new products. Egg Replace® is a 1:1 replacement for dried and liquid whole eggs that provides long-term cost efficiency and supply stability. Ancient Grains Plus™ Baking Flour Blend is precisely blended from whole-food ancient grains and chickpeas to provide more quality protein than traditional flours.
NOVEMBER 2023
Ardent Mills announces a new ESG framework called Nourish: Intention & Impact in the FY23 ESG report. The framework outlines new goals covering people, communities, the planet and ingredients.
APRIL 2024
A new Ardent Mills Innovation Center (AMIC) opens in Pullman, Washington. The state-of-the-art facility serves as a R&D analytical lab and experimental mill focused on alternative grains.
MAY 2024
Ardent Mills celebrates 10 years of nourishing what’s next.
JULY 2024
Sheryl Wallace is appointed as Ardent Mills as Chief Executive Officer. She brings over 30 years of experience and leadership in business growth, strategy, commercial, trading and risk management in the food and agriculture industries.
Tiago Darocha joins Ardent Mills as Chief Operations Officer. He brings over twenty years of extensive experience in operations, supply chain and quality management within the food and beverage industry.
