Milling & Baking News - January 27, 2009 - 16

Business

Cargill income climbs 25% in quarter
MINNEAPOLIS - Strong contributions from the company's holdings in
The Mosaic Co. helped drive a 25%
gain in earnings at Cargill in the second quarter. Net income in the second
quarter ended Nov. 30 was $1.19 billion, up from $954 million in the same
period a year ago. For the first half of
fiscal 2009, earnings totaled $2.68 billion, up 43% from $1.87 billion in the
first six months of fiscal 2008.
"Cargill performed solidly in a period like no other," said Greg Page,
chairman and chief executive officer.
"The global financial system was
under significant stress, energy and
agricultural commodity prices fell
sharply, and recessionary risks took
hold in developed economies in a
worsening global economic environment. Because of Cargill's focus on
market fundamentals and risk management, we were able to work our
way safely through exceedingly volatile conditions."
Cargill said results during the second quarter were led by its origination and processing segment as well
as its industrial segment, both of
which increased earnings significantly from the second quarter a year
ago. Earnings in agriculture services,

meanwhile, decreased moderately,
while results declined overall in the
food ingredients and applications
segment despite some strong performance in individual food ingredient
and meat units during the quarter.
Results in the risk management and
financial segment were lower.
During the second quarter, Cargill opened two major additions
to its global processing capacity: a

'Because of Cargill's focus
on market fundamentals
and risk management,
we were able to work
our way safely through
exceedingly volatile
conditions.'
- Greg Page, Cargill chairman and
chief executive officer

rapeseed crush facility in Montoir,
France, and a cocoa processing plant
in Tema, Ghana. The Montoir plant,
a joint venture with a French cooperative, will draw primarily on locally grown rapeseed to produce a

Kansas Wheat works with K.S.U. and
K.U. to form innovation center
MANHATTAN, KAS. - Kansas
Wheat, Kansas State University and
the University of Kansas have established an alliance under the guidance
of the Kansas Bio Science Authority to develop plans for a joint
venture called the Innovation
Center for Advanced Plant Design: Plants for the Heartland. According to Kansas Wheat, a joint
cooperative venture between the
Kansas Wheat Commission and
the Kansas Association of Wheat
Growers, the center would focus on
emerging commercial opportunities
for wheat, sorghum, small grains, and
native plants and grasses.
The venture will tap into the University of Kansas' scientific expertise
related to deriving value from various
natural materials as well as K-State's
plant-breeding capabilities. The objective will be to develop new methods
of scientific discovery and ultimately,
the commercial release of cutting-edge
technology that has a positive impact
16 / January 27, 2009

Milling & Baking News

on human health, plant science and
food and fuels.
The three groups first began working together last year, and recently

received support from major private
plant science industries, several of the
state's most innovative farmers and
ranchers and other private institutions. The Center for Advanced Plant
Design is working to secure up to $50
million in startup funds from the Kansas BioScience Authority; funding that
would be used to build a research facility near the K-State campus in Manhattan.
"The Center for Advanced Plant
Design is unique in that it combines

variety of oil- and meal-based products for the French food, animal nutrition and biodiesel industries. The
cocoa processing plant in Ghana converts locally grown cocoa beans into
high-quality cocoa liquor, butter and
powders for customers globally. The
facility employs about 200 and adds
to the local economic base.
Looking ahead to the remainder of
fiscal 2009, Mr. Page said Cargill will
be even more mindful of costs and
expenditures, and the risks it chooses
to take.
"We do not expect Cargill to be immune from the economic challenges
in this environment, but the essential
nature of many of our products and
services, the diversity of our businesses and our financial discipline
should lend resilience to our operations," Mr. Page said. "We will keep
our resources available to run the
sourcing, processing, logistics, transport and risk management activities
that support our customers' supply
chains and contribute to the world's
food security. We also will continue
existing efforts to reduce our company's energy and water usage,
find new and better ways to manage waste, and protect the natural
resources so vital to producing food
for a still-growing world." MBN
major, private plant science companies
that have committed to being a part of
this endeavor," said Dusti Fritz, chief
executive officer of Kansas Wheat.
"We'll take new discoveries and technologies, extract the value from them
and in turn, create new businesses and
jobs for Kansas."
Some of the things Kansas
Wheat said it would like to see
achieved through the Kansas Innovation Center for Advanced
Plant Design include commercialization of sustainable, droughttolerant, high yielding varieties;
foods with reduced allergenicity;
new food products that are rich
in antioxidants, cancer fighting components; plant-derived medicines for
preventing and curing human disease;
high bio-mass plants for bio-fuel production; high starch content for animal
feeds; and ethanol with less wastes
and environmental impacts.
"The center will position Kansas as
the global leader in plant genetics by
translating innovative research into
value-added agricultural products delivered to the market place," Ms. Fritz
said. MBN
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Milling & Baking News - January 27, 2009

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