1900 - 1949
1903
Sam D. Cargill dies. John H. MacMillan, Sr., moves to Minneapolis from Arkansas to become general manager. W. W. Cargill becomes the sole owner of the La Crosse business after Sam's death.
1904
W. W. Cargill suffers a mild stroke and his son, William S. becomes more involved in the La Crosse business. John H. MacMillan, Sr., now head of the Cargill Elevator Company, purchases the Thorpe Elevator Company, which includes over 50 elevators, mostly located in the Red River Valley.
1905
Elevator T is acquired as result of a dispute with Spencer Grain. This insignificant Minneapolis storage facility will grow into a major Midwest terminal elevator. W. W. invests in and completes the La Crosse & Southeastern Railway from Viroqua to La Crosse, Wisconsin.
1908
W. W. Cargill's son, William S., is in Montana organizing a development effort that ultimately will involve ranching, land development, the development of the Montana and Western Railroad, a dam, and the creation of the town of Valier. The project is not profitable and begins to stress the finances of the La Crosse grain business.
1909
W. W. Cargill dies at age 64, precipitating a fiscal crisis for the company. John H. MacMillan, Sr., now president of the Cargill Elevator Company, works to reassure creditors.
1911
A portion of the assets of Sawyer and Austin Lumber Company is sold to raise funds. The mineral rights to the Arkansas land are retained, and eventually leased to American Bauxite Company, generating much needed cash through 1922.
1912
Cargill Securities Company is established to take over the indebtedness of the Cargill estate. To pay off creditors, $2.55 million in Gold Notes is issued, due in 1917, backed by Cargill Elevator stock. The Terminal Elevator Company, formed in 1904 is renamed the Minneapolis Seed Company.
1913
The La Crosse office is closed. Austen Cargill is now working for the company. After marrying Anne Ray in La Crosse, he heads to Green Bay, largely working for the Seed Department.
1914
Cargill's Green Bay office is moved to Milwaukee, under the direction of Edward J. Grimes, who now oversees Austen Cargill. The company purchases elevator "M" from the Peavey Company at Superior, Wisconsin. The Wisconsin line of elevators is later sold except for the Green Bay elevator.
1915
With war in Europe, grain prices fluctuate wildly, and Cargill Elevator posts a good year. This considerably aids the company's goal to repay its debt. The fourth annual picnic, now a Cargill Elevator tradition, is held outside Minneapolis.
1917
John H. MacMillan, Jr., and Austen Cargill serve in the armed forces in France. Cargill posts record profits and grain exchanges are criticized for the high price of wheat arising from wartime demand.
1918
The number of Cargill country elevators drops to 140 (compared to 189 in 1910-11). The greatest number was in North Dakota; Wisconsin had one leased elevator in Green Bay. Cargill MacMillan attends Yale, and is quarantined during the influenza pandemic.
1919
Major John MacMillan, Jr., returns to civilian life and begins work for the Cargill Elevator Company, first on the Minneapolis trading floor and then in Duluth, Minnesota, under Fred Lindahl. The company produces its first publication, the Cargill Chaff.
1921
The financial crash of 1920 results in Cargill Elevator's first annual loss in its history. Austen Cargill, John MacMillan, Jr., and Cargill MacMillan spend time in British Columbia attending to the lumber operations of the company.
1922
Julius Hendel joins the Cargill organization and takes charge of the newly established grain laboratory in Minneapolis. The grain lab will become one of the most respected private laboratories in the country. Hendel's laboratory study on flour appears the following year in the Northwestern Miller.
1923
Cargill purchases Milwaukee-based Taylor & Bournique Company, an eastern grain-merchandising firm with offices in Wisconsin and New York. The acquisition's private wire system is adopted by Cargill, and the communications innovation gives the company a significant competitive advantage.
1926
A fire in British Columbia destroys the logging camp. Austen Cargill returns to Minneapolis and becomes head of the Cargill Commission Department, focusing his attention on the management of the company's country elevators.
1927
Cargill leases the 1.5 million bushel Superior elevator in Buffalo, New York and another elevator at Port McNicoll, Ontario, beginning its reach eastward. John MacMillan, Jr., marries Marion Dickson.
1928
Cargill Grain Company Ltd. is organized in Canada with an office in Montreal. It is the company's first location outside of the United States.
1929
Cargill organizes its first export department and starts selling grains "FOB", in which financing, carrying and shipping charges are a part of the selling price. A sales office is opened in Genoa, Italy. John MacMillan, Jr., becomes a vice president.
1930
New offices open in Winnipeg, Canada; Rotterdam, Holland; and Buenos Aires, Argentina. Cargill, Incorporated is created. Cargill's revolutionary new elevator in Omaha, Nebraska, is built in a record 55 days. The Cargill News begins publication.
1931
Julius Hendel holds the second year of his training class, this time aimed at those trainees holding particular promise. It becomes an important training ground for new Cargill talent. The Itasca Corporation is created to purchase the Itasca elevator in Superior, Wisconsin.
1932
In response to economic conditions, Cargill implements an across-the-board pay cut of 20-percent on May 1. Some offices are closed and workers are laid off. John H. MacMillan, Sr., suffers a heart attack and must restrict his work. His son, John, Jr., becomes general manager of all Cargill operations. Cargill completes a new 13.5 million bushel elevator in Albany, New York.
1933
Cargill staves off a credit crunch by forming a syndicate, developed with help from Chase's John G. Peterson (who later joins Cargill). Austen Cargill forwards a plan to avoid foreclosing on independent country elevators, which instead become part of Cargill Leased Line Department.
1934
Cargill companies adopt a retirement program for employees, considered one of the best in the industry. John MacMillan, Jr., sends James Ringwald sent to head Cargill's new office in Buenos Aires, with instructions to decline to do any business "by bribery or any other irregular means." Cargill denied membership in the Chicago Board of Trade.
1935
After government officials overturned a Chicago Board of Trade membership rule, Cargill is accepted as a member. The company solidified its standing in the area by assuming the lease of the large C&NW elevator in Chicago. Cargill Carriers, formed in 1930, purchases its first ships, the 248-foot Mayan and the tugboat, Protector.
1936
Various Cargill businesses are merged to become Cargill, Incorporated. John MacMillan, Sr., while retaining his status as chairman of the board, steps down from presidency, which is assumed by John MacMillan, Jr. Cargill purchases the Great Eastern Elevator in Buffalo, New York.
1938
A contentious dispute between Cargill and the Chicago Board of Trade over futures contracts comes to a head. Accusations against the company lead to a bar on futures trading by Cargill Grain Co. and three of its officers.
1940
Cargill closes offices in Copenhagen and Rotterdam as Germany invades Europe. Cargill begins work on the ocean-going Carlantic to take advantage of wartime shipping needs. It employs construction method so unorthodox that Cargill must build the ship itself. The Carlantic is sold to Argentina and renamed the Victoria.
1942
Cargill contracts with the U.S. Navy to build six ocean-going tankers and establishes Port Cargill on the Minnesota River as the construction site. The Minnesota and Western Railroad is acquired for this port.
1943
Cargill enters the soybean processing business with the acquisition of plants at Cedar Rapids and Fort Dodge, Iowa, and Springfield, Illinois. The company looks to the southeast part of the United States by purchasing elevators in Tennessee and constructing more barges. The first patent assigned to Cargill is filed by Dr. Sabine Hirsch.
1944
A private residence west of Minneapolis is purchased as Cargill's new executive headquarters and is soon known as the "Lake Office." John MacMillan, Sr., dies at age 75.
1945
Cargill receives the Army-Navy "E" Award for shipbuilding. The company produces barges for transporting grain on the Mississippi River. Nutrena Feeds is purchased by Cargill.
1949
Cargill loads the first carload of bulk corn in Brazil at Ourinhos for shipment to São Paulo.