Letter to our stakeholders
Reimagining what’s possible
Helping transform the food system with vision and partnerships for a more resilient, prosperous, and sustainable future
Seeing things from a different perspective is something Cargill has always done best. That’s because our place at the center of the food system gives us a unique vantage point — one that connects the insights of farmers, food workers, customers, and partners across our supply chains as we work together to nourish the world in a safe, responsible, and sustainable way.
For 158 years, Cargill has been proud to build a purpose-driven network of global and local partnerships that get food from where it’s produced to where it’s needed. This year, as the world faced more complex challenges and near constant disruption, we drew on the strength of those connections to deliver for our customers and reimagine what’s possible for food and agriculture.
Focusing on people first
With a world-class team, anything is possible. From the heroes who work on the front lines of the food system in our plants, ports, and facilities in 70 countries, to our business teams who facilitate global trading, manage complex supply chains, and more — it’s our people that set Cargill apart.
Every day, our more than 160,000 employees deliver on our purpose and drive innovative solutions that connect the world to an abundant, safe, and quality food supply. Their expertise and relationships with our customers inform the work we do to keep the world fed. That’s why we’re investing deeply in our workers’ safety, skills, and success.
For example, we’re undertaking global initiatives to make our production facilities safer and more efficient for our frontline teams — using their input and technology solutions to drive greater productivity and prevent exposure to injuries. That includes significantly reducing the need for our people to work in confined or elevated spaces, improving vehicle safety, enhancing safety controls, and strengthening our contractor safety efforts to ensure third parties are aligned to the same world-class standards and procedures we use ourselves.
We’re also building more diverse teams, from the frontlines of our operations to our company’s leadership. With this year’s appointments of Joanne Knight as Chief Financial Officer and Philippa Purser as head of strategy and global process leader, Cargill has an even more diverse executive team. Together, our top leaders bring a variety of perspectives – culturally, geographically, and from their past business experiences – that are making Cargill better.
Our commitment to equity is embedded in everything we do, including the investments we’re making in our communities. For example, we’re supporting students and farmers of color, prioritizing supplier diversity, and more. These efforts aren’t just the right thing to do – they’re essential for the success of Cargill and our customers.
Seeking growth with and for our customers
As we care for our people, they in turn care for our customers. Today, Cargill is more customer-driven than ever. That didn’t happen by chance; it’s a result of our intentional efforts to put our customers’ success at the core of Cargill’s strategy for growth.
Working together as one Cargill – across regions, enterprises, and functions – we help our customers navigate challenging market conditions, bring insights and solutions that enable their growth, and connect them to a world of expertise and capabilities no one else can match.
We’re grateful for the trust our customers place in us and energized by the growth we’re achieving together. Thanks to our teams’ excellent execution and our customers’ partnership, Cargill recorded $177 billion¹ in revenues this fiscal year², a 7% increase from one year ago. As our customers have rewarded us with their business, we’ve also been honored by their recognition, including numerous awards this year highlighting our teams’ performance.
Still, we set our sights higher in fiscal year 2023 with investments that will enhance the value we bring to our customers. They included our new joint venture in Wayne-Sanderson Farms, which is positioning us to capture growth in North American poultry; our acquisition of Owensboro Grain Company, which will expand our oilseed crush capacity to meet rising demand; and completing our acquisition of Croda’s bio-based performance technologies business, expanding our portfolio of nature-based solutions for industrial manufacturers.
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"From our unique vantage point at the center of the food system, Cargill is better positioned than ever to reimagine what’s possible. With the best teams in the world, a winning strategy, powerful global partnerships, and a relentless commitment to our purpose, that’s exactly what we’re doing." |
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Finding solutions to big global challenges
By partnering with Cargill, our customers and communities don’t have to face tough headwinds alone. Together, we’re working to support a resilient food system and find solutions to the world’s most urgent challenges, including rising food insecurity that’s rippled around the world since the war in Ukraine began, climate change, inflation, supply chain disruptions, and more.
When it comes to climate change, we’re embracing the opportunity — and responsibility — to drive real solutions. We’re reformulating how we fuel the fleets that move the world’s grain, investing in farmers who are regenerating the soil our crops depend on, accelerating efforts to eliminate deforestation, and enabling our customers to achieve their sustainability goals through our supply chains. We’re reporting our progress and holding ourselves accountable to achieve results.
And we have big ambitions for the impact Cargill can make in people’s lives. As 830 million³ people go to bed hungry every night, we’re doing our part to root out hunger locally and globally, build prosperous communities, support youth and families, and protect the safety, rights, and dignity of people across our supply chains. This year, we invested more than $115 million in partnerships to support these and other efforts, and we’re committed to driving greater global impact in the years to come.
Cargill is doing all this from a position of strength. As we conclude a year of transition and begin a new one full of opportunity, I want to thank my friend, mentor, and Cargill’s executive board chair, Dave MacLennan, for his nine years of extraordinary leadership as CEO. Cargill is a stronger, safer, more inclusive, and more sustainable company thanks to his leadership. As we lean into solving big challenges facing people and the planet, he’s inspired all of us with the optimism to recognize this as a moment of extraordinary possibility — and it is.
From our unique vantage point at the center of the food system, Cargill is better positioned than ever to reimagine what’s possible. With the best teams in the world, a winning strategy, powerful global partnerships, and a relentless commitment to our purpose, that’s exactly what we’re doing.
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Focusing on People
Get the full 2023 Annual Report
1 All financial amounts are presented in U.S. dollars
2 For the fiscal year beginning June 1, 2022, and ending May 31, 2023