MasterHand Milling (MHM), a leading manufacturer of distillers grain livestock feed products, announced this month the addition of a new production facility in Granite City, Ill. An agreement signed on April 1 between MHM and Grain Densification International (GDI) brings GDI under management by MHM and has teams from both organizations enthusiastic about the future.

“Our goal at MHM has always been to grow by partnering strategically with people in the industry who want to raise the bar and make an impact,” said Dusty Turner, MHM owner and CEO. “The crew at GDI is full of passionate, hard-working people who we are fortunate to get to work with.”

Members of the existing GDI team will continue in their roles at the facility.

“GDI is very excited about the agreement with MHM and we are looking forward to working with the entire MHM crew to produce an outstanding product for the cattle industry,” said GDI President Greg Roach.

Going forward, the facility will be operating as Riverside Milling and will manufacture extruded distillers grain cattle cubes and pellets to be marketed under the MHM brand. Products from the facility will be shipped by truck and rail to customers and retailers in surrounding states.

“The demand for this distillers grain cube has grown exponentially in the last few years,” Turner said.  “It truly has the ability to revolutionize the way ranchers feed their cattle, and by adding the Riverside facility to our production, we will be able to bring that product to more ranchers across a larger territory.”

A family-owned company founded in 2014, MHM’s primary production facility is in Lexington, Neb., and corporate offices are located in Edmond, Okla. The company was one of the first in the industry to utilize an extrusion technology to manufacture distillers grain cubes designed for use on the ranch.

“This growth and expansion for MasterHand is absolutely the result of the hard work of our team, but it’s also driven by the desire to constantly learn more about what this product can really do for ranchers in an ever-evolving cattle industry,” Turner said.

Since 2019, MHM has partnered with Oklahoma State University’s Cooperative Extension program to conduct feed trials using the distillers grain cubes and pellets. The trials collect data on cattle performance and economic impact at both the ranch and the feedlot.

“We’re continuously working to test the product in different scenarios and collect data that shows results ranchers can depend on to help make decisions for their businesses,” Turner said. “We always say our products are made by cattlemen, for cattlemen. We are truly passionate about helping ranchers preserve and improve their way of life. This new production facility is going to help us achieve that mission on a much larger scale.”