Editing Cargill (section)

==History==
[[File:2009-0612-07-CargillLakeOffice.jpg|thumb|The Cargill Lake Office, occupying the former [[Rufus Rand]] mansion on the main corporate campus in Minnetonka, formerly housed the company's top executives; the company's 2016 CEO decided it was bad optics,{{clarify|reason=Not sure how widely understood this term may be|date=January 2023}} moved the senior executive out, and the historic mansion was demolished by Cargill in 2020.<ref name=Forbes1102>{{Cite web |author1=Neil Weinberg |author2=Brandon Copple |url=https://www.forbes.com/forbes/2002/1125/158.html |title=Going Against The Grain |website=Forbes.com |date=November 25, 2002 |access-date=June 12, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://midwesthome.com/building-remodeling/cargill-decides-to-demolish-the-still-pond-mansion/|title = Cargill Decides to Demolish the Still Pond Mansion|newspaper = Midwest Home|date = August 26, 2020}}</ref>]]

===19th century===
Cargill was founded in 1865 by [[William Wallace Cargill]] when he bought a grain-flat house in [[Conover, Iowa|Conover]], [[Iowa]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Shurtleff |first1=William |title=History of Cargill's Work with Soybeans and Soybean Ingredients (1940-2020): Extensively Annotated Bibliography and Sourcebook |last2=Aoyagi |first2=Akiko |publisher=Soyinfo Center |year=2020 |isbn=978-1-948436-22-9 |location=Lafayette, CA |pages=5 |language=en}}</ref> A year later William was joined by his brother Sam, forming W. W. Cargill and Brother. Together, they built grain flat houses and opened a lumberyard. In 1875, Cargill moved to [[La Crosse, Wisconsin|La Crosse]], [[Wisconsin]], and their brother James joined the business. La Crosse was strategically located on the Mississippi near the junctions of the La Crosse River, Dubuque, and Southern Minnesota divisions of the [[Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad]].

Sam Cargill left La Crosse in 1887 to manage the office in [[Minneapolis]], an important emerging grain center. Three years later, the Minneapolis operation incorporated as Cargill Elevator Co.; some years after that the La Crosse operation incorporated as W. W. Cargill Company of La Crosse, Wisconsin. In 1898, John H. MacMillan Sr., and his brother, Daniel, began working for W. W. Cargill. MacMillan then married William Cargill's eldest daughter, Edna.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Shurtleff |first1=William |last2=Aoyagi |first2=Akiko |title=History of Cargill's Work with Soybeans and Soybean Ingredients (1940-2020): Extensively Annotated Bibliography and Sourcebook |publisher=Soyinfo Center |year=2020 |isbn=978-1-948436-22-9 |location=Lafayette, CA |pages=304 |language=en}}</ref>

===20th century===

Upon Sam Cargill's death in 1903, William Cargill became the sole owner of the La Crosse office. John MacMillan was named general manager of Cargill Elevator Company and moved his family to Minneapolis. William Cargill died in 1909, creating a fiscal crisis for the company. MacMillan worked to resolve the credit issues and to force his brother-in-law William S. Cargill out of the company. The current owners are descended from John MacMillan's two sons, John H. MacMillan Jr., and Cargill MacMillan Sr., and his youngest brother-in-law, Austen S. Cargill I.

John MacMillan ran the company until his retirement in 1936. Under his leadership Cargill grew several fold, expanding out of the Midwest by opening its first East coast offices, in New York, in 1923. He was also the architect of the company's strategy of internationalism.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last1=Blas |first1=Javier |title=The World For Sale: Money, Power, and the Traders Who Barter the Earth's Resources |last2=Farchy |first2=Jack |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2021 |isbn=978-0-19-007895-9 |location=Oxford |pages=31 |language=en}}</ref> He opened the company's first Canadian, European and Latin American offices in 1928, 1929, and 1930. He was also noted for his involvement in the controversial commercial rapprochement between the U.S. and the [[Soviet Union]].<ref name=":0" /> 

The first of the crises was the debt left by the death of William W. Cargill. The company issued $2.25 million in Gold Notes, backed by Cargill stock, to pay off its creditors. The Gold Notes were due in 1917, but thanks to record grain prices caused by [[World War I]] all debts were paid by 1915.

As World War I continued into 1917, Cargill made record earnings and faced criticisms of [[war profiteer]]ing. Four years later, as a fallout from the financial crash of 1920, Cargill posted its first loss.

Cargill opened its first Canadian operations in [[Montreal]] in 1928 as Cargill Grain Company Ltd.<ref name="timeline">{{cite web |url=https://www.cargill.com/doc/1432078093613/pdf-cargill-timeline.pdf |title=Cargill Timeline |page=5 |publisher=Cargill |accessdate=June 19, 2017}}</ref> Headquartered in [[Winnipeg]],<ref name="limited"/> it employs up to 8,000 people in Canada.<ref name="limited">{{cite web |url=http://www.cargill.ca/en/about/index.jsp |title=About Cargill in Canada |publisher=Cargill |accessdate=June 19, 2017}}</ref><ref name="cbr">{{cite web |url=http://www.cbr.ca/CompanyProfile.aspx?CompanyID=3849 |title=Cargill |publisher=Canadian Business Resource |accessdate=June 19, 2017}}</ref><ref name="cgovt">{{cite web |url=http://www.ic.gc.ca/app/ccc/srch/nvgt.do?lang=eng&prtl=1&estblmntNo=131556430000&profile=cmpltPrfl&profileId=501&app=sold |title=Cargill Limited |publisher=[[Government of Canada]] |accessdate=June 19, 2017}}</ref>

One of the biggest criticisms of Cargill has been its perceived arrogance (see, for example, Brewster Kneen in the ''Ecologist'' and also Greg Muttitt in the same journal). The MacMillans' aggressive management style led to a decades-long feud with the [[Chicago Board of Trade]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last1=Greising |first1=David |title=Brokers, Bagmen, and Moles: Fraud and Corruption in the Chicago Futures Markets |last2=Morse |first2=Laurie |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |year=1991 |isbn=0-471-53057-3 |location=New York |pages=61–63 |language=en}}</ref> It began in 1934 when the Board denied membership to Cargill.<ref name=":1" /> The US government overturned the Board's ruling and forced it to accept Cargill as a member. The 1936 corn crop failed and with the 1937 crop unavailable until October, the Chicago Board of Trade ordered Cargill to sell some of its corn. Cargill refused to comply.<ref name="Forbes1102"/>

The US Commodity Exchange Authority and Chicago Board of Trade accused Cargill of trying to [[Cornering the market|corner]] the corn market. In 1938, the Chicago Board suspended Cargill and three of its officers from the trading floor. When the Board lifted its suspension a few years later, Cargill refused to rejoin, instead trading through independent traders. During [[World War II]], MacMillan Jr. continued to expand the company, which boomed as it stored and transported grain and built [[T1 tanker]]s and [[Towboat]]s ships for the [[United States Navy]].<ref name="Forbes1102"/> In 1962, Cargill rejoined the Chicago Board of Trade, two years after MacMillan's death.

In 1960, Erwin Kelm became the first non-family chief executive. Aiming for expansion into [[Downstream (manufacturing)|downstream production]], he led the company into milling, [[starch]]es, and [[syrup]]s. As the company grew, it developed a [[Market Intelligence|market intelligence]] network as it coordinated its commodities trading, processing, [[freight]], shipping, and [[futures contract|futures]] businesses. In the decades before [[email]], the company relied on its own [[Teletypewriter message|telex-based]] system for internal communication.<ref name="Forbes1102"/> By 1972, Cargill’s business grew with $5 billion in sales, becoming the largest agricultural trader in the world.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Blas |first1=Javier |title=The World for Sale: Money, Power, and the Traders Who Barter the Earth's Resources |last2=Farchy |first2=Jack |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2021 |isbn=978-0-19-007897-3 |location=Oxford |pages=38 |language=en}}</ref>
[[File:Dust fills air as ships are loaded from the Cargill grain elevator - NARA - 551577.jpg|thumb|right|Dust fills the air as ships are loaded from a Cargill grain elevator in [[Duluth, Minnesota]], 1973]]

When the [[Soviet Union]] entered the grain markets in the 1970s, demand grew to unprecedented levels, and Cargill benefitted. In 1963, Cargill had already negotiated a $40 million wheat deal with the USSR, establishing a relationship that later involved a series of larger deals.<ref name=":0" /> When [[Whitney MacMillan]], nephew of John Jr., took over the company from Kelm in 1976, revenue approached $30 billion. The US government put pressure on big grain exporters with allegations of manipulating the market, and Cargill was a major target, but it emerged without any major changes.<ref name="Forbes1102"/>

In 1978, Cargill purchased the large [[Leslie Salt]] refining company in [[Newark, California]], from [[McCormick & Company|Schilling]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.allelementsdesign.com/schilling/company/salt/leslie.html|title=Schilling Family, leslie |work=www.allelementsdesign.com |access-date=November 5, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.allelementsdesign.com/schilling/company/salt/cargill.html|title=Schilling Family, cargill |work=www.allelementsdesign.com |access-date=November 5, 2014}}</ref>

In 1979, Cargill entered the meat-processing business with the purchase of beef processor MBPXL (later Excel).<ref name=excelhistory>{{cite web |url=https://appserver.excelmeats.com/about/history.htm |title=Excel History |website=ExcelMeats.com |access-date=June 23, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816122055/https://appserver.excelmeats.com/about/history.htm |archive-date=August 16, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The division expanded into turkey, food service and food distribution businesses and is now known as [[Cargill Meat Solutions]].

In 1986 Cargill started operations in Venezuela through a partnership with the Possenti family's Mimesa C.A. to form Agroindustrial Mimesa in Maracaibo, dedicated to the manufacturing of flour and pasta. Expansion followed thereafter.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cargill.com.ve/en/history-in-venezuela |title=History in Venezuela &#124; Cargill Venezuela |website=www.cargill.com.ve}}</ref>

Tensions arose with the company's private shareholders, as Cargill typically put 80% of earnings back into the business. By the early 1990s, members of the Cargill and MacMillan families became upset that their shares in the company were yielding mediocre [[dividend]]s. Demands rose for an [[initial public offering]] to turn the company public. The company responded with an employee stock ownership plan, and in 1993 reportedly purchased 17% of the firm for $730 million from 72 Cargills and MacMillans. It used that stake to begin the employee stock plan. The company's [[board of directors]] was reorganized to reduce the number of relatives to six, alongside six independents and five managers.<ref name="Forbes1102"/>

[[Ernest Micek]] took over as chief executive in August 1995.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Shurtleff |first1=William |last2=Aoyagi |first2=Akiko |title=History of ADM (Archer Daniels Midland Co.) and the Andreas Family's Work with Soybeans and Soyfoods (1884-2020): Extensively Annotated Bibliography and Sourcebook |publisher=Soyinfo Center |year=2020 |isbn=978-1-948436-23-6 |location=Lafayette, CA |pages=699 |language=en}}</ref> Cargill underwent turmoil in the following years; its financial unit lost hundreds of millions of dollars in 1998 when Russia defaulted on debt and developing countries began to have financial issues. The commodities and ingredients business, which was 75% of Cargill's total revenue, suffered from the [[1997 Asian Financial Crisis]].<ref name="Forbes1102"/> Revenues fell by double-digit percentages for two years in a row, from $55.7 billion in 1997 to $51.4 billion in 1998 and $45.7 billion in 1999, while net income fell from $814 million in 1997 to $468 million in 1998 and $220 million in 1999.<ref name="FT022604"/> By 1999, the company had $4 billion in debt. After a reduction in previously strong [[bond credit rating]], Micek announced he would step down a year early.<ref name="Forbes1102"/>

===21st century===
[[File:CargillMississippiRiver.jpg|thumb|right|Cargill barge loading facility on the Mississippi River opposite St. Louis]]
[[File:Cargill dock 01.jpg|thumb|Cargill dock in [[La Crosse, Wisconsin]]]]
In 1998, [[Warren Staley]] became chief executive and continued expanding the company and it rebounded.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dougherty |first=Tim |date=2015-01-12 |title=Warren Staley Elected to Board of Directors for Music Academy of the West {{!}} Good for Santa Barbara |url=https://www.noozhawk.com/warren_staley_elected_to_board_of_directors_for_music_academy_of_the_west/ |access-date=2024-12-16 |website=Noozhawk |language=en-US}}</ref> He pursued a new strategy that shifted away from an asset-intensive commodities company to solutions-oriented enterprise.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last1=Hacourt |first1=Paul |title=The Scramble for Africa in the 21st Century |last2=Melluish |first2=Mark |publisher=Primedia E-launch LLC |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-62209-004-4 |location=Cape Town |language=en}}</ref> While expanding, the company also refocused its business by selling assets such as its coffee and rubber businesses.<ref name=":2" />

In 2002 Cargill acquired European-based starch manufacturer Cerestar from [[Montedison]] for $1.1 billion.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2002-01-22 |title=Europe clears Cargill purchase of Cerestar |url=https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2002/01/22/Europe-clears-Cargill-purchase-of-Cerestar/ |access-date=2025-02-26 |website=FoodNavigator.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.icis.com/explore/resources/news/2001/11/05/150501/cargill-acquires-cerestar-expanding-global-starch-share/ |title=Cargill Acquires Cerestar Expanding Global Starch Share |date=2001-11-05 |website=icis.co |access-date= }}
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By 2002, Cargill had over $50 billion in annual sales, twice the amount of its closest rival, [[Archer Daniels Midland]], and had 97,000 employees running more than 1,000 production sites in 59 countries.<ref name="Forbes1102"/>

Cargill Meat Solutions acquired Milwaukee Emmpak in 2003 and merged it with Taylor Packing Co. (purchased in 2001). In 2006, Cargill Meat purchased Fresno Meats. The three main brands of beef are Circle T Beef, Valley Tradition, and Meadowland Farms.<ref name=tnpctp>{{Cite web |url=http://www.beefatcirclet.com/Cargill_Triple_Play_final.pdf |title=Cargill's triple play |access-date=August 5, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141023132355/http://www.beefatcirclet.com/Cargill_Triple_Play_final.pdf |archive-date=October 23, 2014 |url-status=dead  |date=August 2007 |publisher=The National Provisioner}}</ref>

On June 1, 2007, CEO Staley was succeeded by [[Gregory R. Page]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2007-02-08 |title=Cargill appoints new CEO |url=https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2007/02/08/Cargill-appoints-new-CEO/ |access-date=2025-02-26 |website=FoodNavigator.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Greg Page |url=https://tcbmag.com/honors/outstanding-directors-awards-steering-through-2020-crises/greg-page/ |access-date=2024-12-16 |website=Twin Cities Business |language=en-US}}</ref>

Cargill's quarterly profits exceeded $1 billion for the first time during the quarter ending on February 29, 2008 ($1.03 billion); the 86% rise was credited to global food shortages and the expanding [[biofuel]]s industry that, in turn, caused a rise in demand for Cargill's core areas of agricultural commodities and technology.<ref name=Strib041508>{{Cite web |author=Matt McKinney |url=http://www.startribune.com/business/17693669.html |title=At $471,611 an hour, Cargill posts fine quarter |website=Star Tribune |date=April 15, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Kneen, Brewster |year=2003 |title=Size is Everything |journal=The Ecologist|volume=33 |issue=3 |pages=48–51}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Muttitt, Greg |year=2001 |title=Control Freaks |journal=The Ecologist |volume=31 |issue=2 |pages=52 }}</ref>

In October 2011, the U.S. Justice Department announced that a biotech specialist at Cargill had pleaded guilty to stealing information from Cargill and [[Dow AgroSciences]]. Kexue Huang, a Chinese national, was discovered to be passing trade secrets back to China.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.twincities.com/ci_19151757 | title=A Cargill scientist, and a spy for China |first=Tom |last=Webb | publisher=Twin Cities Pioneer Press |date=October 20, 2011}}</ref>

In November 2011, Cargill completed the acquisition of [[Provimi]], a global animal nutrition company for €1.5 billion ($2.1 billion US).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cargill.com/news/releases/2011/NA3052248.jsp|title=Cargill News Release|access-date=November 5, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130303033933/http://www.cargill.com/news/releases/2011/NA3052248.jsp|archive-date=March 3, 2013}}</ref>

On April 1, 2012, Cargill completed a purchase of a cat and dog food plant in [[Emporia, Kansas]]. It was previously owned by American Nutrition.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.emporiagazette.com/news/2012/feb/15/cargill-acquires-emporia-pet-food-plant/|title=Emporia Gazette|access-date=November 5, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130122134130/http://www.emporiagazette.com/news/2012/feb/15/cargill-acquires-emporia-pet-food-plant/|archive-date=January 22, 2013}}</ref>

In December 2013 CEO and chairman Page was succeeded by CEO Dave MacLennan.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dave MacLennan {{!}} Bechtel |url=https://www.bechtel.com/about/leadership/dave-maclennan/ |access-date=2024-12-16 |website=www.bechtel.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Fedor |first=Liz |date=2022-11-21 |title=Cargill COO Brian Sikes to Succeed David MacLennan as CEO |url=https://tcbmag.com/cargill-coo-brian-sikes-to-succeed-david-maclennan-as-ceo/ |access-date=2024-12-16 |website=Twin Cities Business |language=en-US}}</ref>

In December 2014, Cargill finished commissioning a $100 million Indonesian cocoa plant.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.startribune.com/business/206476471.html|title=Cargill building $100 million Indonesian cocoa plant|website=[[Star Tribune]]|access-date=November 5, 2014}}</ref>

In 2015, Cargill wound down its Black River Asset Management division by shutting down four hedge funds, folding two agriculture and energy funds into Cargill, and spinning off three fund businesses to employees to create the hedge fund Proterra Investment Partners, emerging markets debt specialist Argentem Creek Partners and hedge fund [[Garda Capital Partners]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.startribune.com/phaseout-of-cargill-s-black-river-asset-management-completed/367034161/|title=Phaseout of Cargill's Black River Asset Management completed|website=[[Star Tribune]]|date=January 30, 2016 }}</ref>

In 2016, Cargill announced that it would move its Protein Group headquarters from older buildings in downtown [[Wichita, Kansas]], and consolidate into a new building in Wichita's nearby Old Town area. The new $60 million building will be built on the site of the building that formerly housed [[The Wichita Eagle]], following the old building's demolition.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kansas.com/news/business/biz-columns-blogs/carrie-rengers/article105193381.html |title=Cargill selects site for new Wichita headquarters |work=www.kansas.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/wichita/news/2016/12/01/cargill-unveils-plans-for-60-million-headquarters.html |title=Cargill unveils plans for $60 million Protein Group headquarters |date=December 1, 2016 |website=Wichita Business Journal www.bizjournals.com |access-date= }}
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In 2016, Cargill completed the commissioning of a feed plant in Bathinda, Punjab, India, and manufactures dairy cattle feed under the Purina brand name.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cargill.co.in/en/purina-feed-india|title = Dairy feed |work=Cargill India}}</ref>

In 2017, Cargill sold its Geneva-based petroleum-trading business to [[Macquarie Bank]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/cargill-to-sell-oil-trading-business-to-macquarie-1489677220|title=Cargill to Sell Oil Trading Business to Macquarie|date=March 16, 2017|publisher=The Wall Street Journal}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.ft.com/content/2d5a342c-0a61-11e7-ac5a-903b21361b43|title=Macquarie buys Cargill's petroleum business|date=March 17, 2017|publisher=THE FINANCIAL TIMES}}</ref> and soon after its North American power and gas trading business as well.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.ft.com/content/c77a0282-60e8-37c6-8ea7-1949c2433ab0|title=Cargill sells North America power and gas trading business to Macquarie|date=June 9, 2017|publisher=THE FINANCIAL TIMES}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/business/macquarie-to-acquire-cargills-north-american-power-gas-business-idUSKBN1902XB/|title=Macquarie to acquire Cargill's North American power, gas business|date=June 10, 2017|publisher=Reuters}}</ref>

In 2018, Cargill and [[Faccenda Foods]] opened a joint venture to take over their U.K. fresh poultry businesses, [[Avara Foods]], employing 6,000 people.<ref name=Avara>{{cite news |url=https://www.foodmanufacture.co.uk/Article/2018/01/29/Cargill-and-Faccenda-unveil-Avara-Foods-joint-venture |title=Cargill and Faccenda unveil Avara Foods joint venture |website=Food Manufacture |date=January 31, 2018 |access-date=January 27, 2019}}</ref>

In February 2018, Cargill completed the purchase of Pro Pet, a pet food manufacturing company. Pro Pet had three manufacturing facilities, one in [[Owatonna, Minnesota]], one in [[Kansas City, Kansas]], and one in [[St. Marys, Ohio]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cargill acquires Pro-Pet private label pet food maker |url=https://www.petfoodindustry.com/articles/6872-cargill-acquires-pro-pet-private-label-pet-food-maker |access-date=September 11, 2020 |website=www.petfoodindustry.com |date=January 2018 |language=en}}</ref>

In November 2018, Cargill sold its 13 crop input locations in [[Ontario]], Canada to [[La Coop Fédérée]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.realagriculture.com/2018/11/la-coop-completes-revamped-acquisition-of-ontario-cargill-assets/ |title=La Coop completes revamped acquisition of Ontario Cargill assets |website=www.realagriculture.com |access-date=May 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190507184109/https://www.realagriculture.com/2018/11/la-coop-completes-revamped-acquisition-of-ontario-cargill-assets/ |archive-date=May 7, 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2018, Cargill made a $25 million investment in Puris, a supplier of pea protein used in [[Beyond Meat]] products. In 2019, Cargill invested an additional $75 million.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.startribune.com/cargill-makes-a-bigger-investment-in-puris-a-key-supplier-to-beyond-meat/558564282/ |title=Cargill makes $75 million investment in Puris, a key supplier to Beyond Meat |date=August 29, 2019 |publisher=Star Tribune}}</ref>

====COVID-19 crisis====
On April 8, 2020, Cargill closed its [[Hazleton, Pennsylvania]] meatpacking facility because "an unspecified number of Cargill employees at the plant [had] tested positive for COVID-19." The county had the "highest number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the area with 982", of which 849 were in Hazleton.<ref name="agpenn">{{cite news |last1=Henderson |first1=Greg |title=COVID-19: Cargill Closes Pennsylvania Plant |url=https://www.agweb.com/article/covid-19-cargill-closes-pennsylvania-plant |publisher=AG WEB |date=April 8, 2020}}</ref><ref name="bcold">{{cite news |last1=Waldman |first1=Peter |title=Cold, Crowded, Deadly: How U.S. Meat Plants Became a Virus Breeding Ground |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2020-05-07/coronavirus-closes-meat-plants-threatens-food-supply |publisher=Bloomberg |date=May 7, 2020}}</ref>

On April 20, 2020, Cargill temporarily closed its [[High River, Alberta]], plant because "the operation was linked to nearly 500 cases of COVID-19". All 2,100 employees were recommended for virus testing.<ref name=rcar>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-meat-cargill-ltd/cargill-to-temporarily-idle-alberta-beef-plant-as-hundreds-of-workers-infected-by-covid-19-idUSKBN22234Y|title=Cargill to temporarily idle Alberta beef plant as hundreds of workers infected by COVID-19|date=April 20, 2020|work=Reuters}}</ref> This plant was responsible for about 36% of Canada's beef producing capacity.<ref name=tsclos>{{cite news|url=https://www.thestar.com/politics/federal/2020/04/21/closure-of-alberta-beef-plant-could-push-up-prices-but-shouldnt-create-shortages-trudeau-says.html|title=Justin Trudeau warns beef prices could go up after Alberta plant closes due to COVID-19|date=April 21, 2020|newspaper=Toronto Star|last1=Ballingall|first1=Alex}}</ref> On May 6, the plant was connected with 1,560 cases of COVID-19.<ref name="nicbc">{{cite news |url=https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/longform/cargill-covid19-outbreak |publisher=CBC|title=Inside the slaughterhouse|first=Joel|last=Dryden}}</ref> [[United Food and Commercial Workers Canada]] (UFCW) Union Local 401 has recommended the plant's closure since 38 cases were known.<ref name=cbcdry>{{cite news |last1=Dryden |first1=Joel |title=358 cases of COVID-19 now linked to Cargill meat plant |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/cargill-deena-hinshaw-covid-19-1.5536916 |access-date=April 18, 2020 |work=CBC News |date=April 17, 2020 |location=Calgary AB}}</ref>

The public health authority of Quebec did not shut down a Cargill plant in [[Chambly, Quebec|Chambly]] south of [[Montreal]] on May 10, 2020. A total of 64 employees, about 13% of the workforce, had COVID-19. The workers are represented by the UFCW. The public health department for the Montérégie region had been working with Cargill since April 25 to deal with the outbreak. Cargill closed the plant on its own.<ref name="cbcmp">{{cite news |last1=Harris |first1=Colin |title=Cargill meat-processing plant south of Montreal says 64 workers infected with COVID-19 |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/cargill-chambly-covid-19-shut-down-1.5563539 |publisher=CBC |date=May 10, 2020}}</ref><ref name="cbcwhat">{{cite news |title=Coronavirus: What's happening in Canada and around the world Sunday |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/coronavirus-covid19-canada-world-may10-1.5563513 |publisher=CBC |date=May 10, 2020}}</ref>

On May 11, a [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]] journalist wrote, "The Cargill plant in Alberta, where there have been about 1,000 reported cases [of human COVID-19], is now considered the largest single-site outbreak in [[North America]]."<ref name="cbcfi">{{cite news |title=Food inspectors could face sanctions if they refuse reassignment to COVID-19-infected meat plants, union told |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/meat-processing-covid19-1.5563681 |publisher=CBC |date=May 11, 2020|last=Harris|first=Kathleen}}</ref> Meanwhile, the [[Agriculture Union]] of [[CFIA]]'s [[embedded inspector]]s at slaughterhouses said that management is "threatening disciplinary action against employees who refuse to be reassigned to work at COVID-19-infected meat plants", while Deputy PM [[Chrystia Freeland]] said, "those who feel unsafe won't be forced back to work."<ref name=cbcfi/>

Also on May 11, the Alberta government disclosed that a second worker from the Cargill plant there had died that day.<ref name="gm11m">{{cite news |title=Alberta NDP, union call for Cargill plant to be shut down pending legal review after second COVID-19 death at facility |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alberta/article-alberta-ndp-union-call-for-cargill-plant-to-be-shut-down-pending/ |agency=The Canadian Press |publisher=The Globe and Mail Inc |date=May 11, 2020}}</ref>

On June 3, 2020, Cargill announced that it would no longer publish quarterly results, stopping the disclosures that the company had provided since 1996. Cargill canceled its third-quarter earnings release in March 2020 amid the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref name="kpnomore">{{cite news |last1=Plume |first1=Karl |title=Cargill halts public reporting of quarterly results |url=https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/cargill-halts-public-reporting-of-quarterly-results-2020-06-03 |agency=Reuters |publisher=NASDAQ |date=June 3, 2020}}</ref>

In 2022, Cargill announced it would build a corn syrup refinery in [[Fort Dodge, Iowa]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.foodbusinessnews.net/articles/22027-cargill-to-build-sustainable-corn-syrup-plant | title=Cargill to build sustainable corn syrup plant &#124; Food Business News |website=www.foodbusinessnews.net }}</ref>

====New strategy====
In 2022, Cargill saw record profits due to the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]] and [[2022 food crises|rising food prices]].<ref>{{cite news |title=America's wealthiest agriculture family has gotten even richer as the Ukraine war sends food prices skyrocketing |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/cargill-family-fortune-rises-as-food-prices-soar-ukraine-war-2022-4 |work=Business Insider |date=April 9, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Experts say Ukraine war shows we need a new way to feed the world |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/expert-ukraine-war-need-new-way-feed-world/ |work=Politico |date=May 20, 2022}}</ref> In January 2023, Brian Sikes was appointed president and CEO.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Maruf |first=Ramishah |date=2024-12-02 |title=America's biggest private company is laying off thousands of workers  |url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/02/business/cargill-layoffs-thousands/index.html |access-date=2024-12-03 |work=CNN Business |language=en}}</ref>