Milling & Baking News - December 15, 2009 - 19

Signature Interview



Dan Dye brings culture of change
to new role leading Horizon Milling
Continued from Page 1

between Cargill and CHS, is the nation's largest flour milling company. The company was establised in
2001. With daily milling capacity of
279,000 cwts of flour and 20,000 cwts
of durum semolina, Horizon Milling
operates 19 U.S. mills dotted across
the United States.
While new to flour milling, Mr. Dye
has considerable experience at Cargill. In fact, having started his career
there in 1981, Mr. Dye actually joined
the company a year before Mr. Shoemaker, who came to Cargill with the
1982 acquisition of Seaboard Allied
Milling Corp.
"My early background here is a
pretty traditional one, starting in a
grain origination role, learning the
business by working with customers
and moving grain through domestic
and export channels," Mr. Dye said.
A pivotal time for Cargill's grain
business was the early 1990s when
the company took major steps to adjust to a permanently altered marketplace, Mr. Dye said. Changes at the

Guy Shoemaker, left, with Dan Dye.

20 / December 15, 2009 Milling & Baking News

company during that period help explain how the company has survived
and grown even as many of its prominent competitors from that time and
earlier have disappeared or have become greatly diminished.
Recognizing the need to change,
Cargill reoriented its grain business to

align it more closely with its large processing business, major users of grain.
"The company consciously brought
in different people from different parts
of Cargill with the idea of one voice in
the marketplace," Mr. Dye said. "The
effort brought some great success, but
it did not go as far as it could. It did set
the stage for subsequent changes and
where we are today. It was an important time for Cargill."
Among the changes that followed was
the creation of AgHorizons, which Mr.
Dye led as president for several years.

"In the mid to late 1990s, we began
to look at the farmgate differently,
recognizing the farmer as an important partner, not just as a supplier of
commodities," Mr. Dye said. "In 19992000, as part of its strategic vison, Cargill formed AgHorizons 100% focused
on the farmer as customer."
The business has grown, with the
company offering a widening range of
risk management and agronomic services to growers.
By many measures, the effort
has been a success, Mr. Dye said. It
hasn't been easy. For decades, many
growers, almost reflexively, have
been suspicious and even critical of
large grain companies. As the largest
grain company, Cargill certainly has
been a target.
"When farmers hear about Cargill, we want them to think 'That's
the company that helps me succeed,'
rather than, 'that's the large company
that's making money at my expense,'"
he said. "And we've done it. We've
built bridges with farmers. Not with
all of them, yet. But we're making
good progress. It's a business that's
built one grower at a time."
While both Mr. Shoemaker and
Mr. Dye sat quietly while the other
responded to questions during the
90-minute interview, Mr. Shoemaker
felt compelled to interject and amplify
about Mr. Dye's role at AgHorizons.
"Dan didn't really do himself justice describing his role there," Mr.
Shoemaker said. "AgHorizons was
not a thriving business when Dan
started there. With his intelligence
and integrity he brought a radically
different business model. He sold
the model to management, and most
important, he delivered. He truly
showed great leadership."
Asked for his first blush reactions
to his new industry, flour milling, Mr.
Dye said he has been struck and impressed by the energy and enthusiasm
of his new colleagues as well as by the
fundamental change of moving from
the front end of the food chain "way
further down the line."
"When I think about Cargill's
mission of nourishing people, being
in the flour business, a major food
bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

http://www.bakingbusiness.com http://www.world-grain.com

Milling & Baking News - December 15, 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Milling & Baking News - December 15, 2009