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DO judge this book by its cover. Meet the star of our ‘Extraordinary’ Annual Report.

Read Time: 3 minutes

August 09, 2021

Cargill´s Annual Report 2021

If you want to know what kind of year it’s been at Cargill, just look at the cover of our Annual Report. That’s Rosa Baeza, a quality assurance leader from our plant in Schuyler, Nebraska, U.S. She’s wearing a mask, a hard hat, and a look of steely determination.

“We’re feeding people,” the mother of three says. “When we come to work — especially during a pandemic — families have food on their tables.”

Click here to read our 2021 Annual Report

 

Plant worker in safety vest hard hat face shield and mask meat processing Protein CPS

Extraordinary people

The title of this year’s report is “Extraordinary,” and Rosa — like many of our 155,000 colleagues around the world — exemplifies the word.

Naturally nervous to work during a pandemic, the near-20-year Cargill veteran showed up anyway. She was reassured by the on-site testing protocols, personal protective equipment, and sanitization regimes you’ll see described in the report.

“The company gave us all the equipment we needed,” she says, “and then worked to keep everyone distanced on their shifts, for start times and on breaks. Cargill has dealt with the with pandemic really well.”

So much so that when given paid leave, Rosa volunteered to work for another department that was still running. “I saw the way Cargill supported me with benefits like paid time off to look after my kids. I wanted to give back. I want them to know I’m here for the company because they’re always there for me.”

That’s why the annual report describes this as ultimately a “year of hope” despite the challenges we — and the world at large — faced. “We are stronger than ever because of our extraordinary people.”

 

Rosa Baeza with team at Schuyler Protein plant 3 X 2
Big Mac burger closeup

 

Extraordinary solutions

On page four of the report, you’ll see a number of honors from our customers. There’s A Red Hat Award from Arby’s for securing their supply of roast beef, turkey and fry oil, recognition from McDonald’s for keeping Big Macs and chicken nuggets on the menu, and three acknowledgements from Taco Bell.

How did we keep the supply chain moving — while innovating in areas like plant-based proteins, salmon sustainability and consumer insights? Rosa, whose team of nine ensures product quality, has one answer. “Our job is to give our customers the best. I encourage my team to do their job well by thinking of our customers and of the families eating our food. We have to keep kids safe.”

CEO Dave MacLennan and Chief Operating Officer Brian Sikes express their gratitude in the letter to stakeholders. “We are incredibly proud of how our teams helped our customers, partners and one another through trying circumstances,” they write, “coming out of this extraordinary year stronger together.”

 

Aquaculture salmon farmer with large fish

Extraordinary partnerships

When you read the annual report, you get a snapshot of Cargill’s accomplishments, as well as the issues we’re working to overcome. You read about the partnerships that are helping protect millions of hectares of forests in South America, putting wings on ships to reduce CO2 emissions or working to regenerate 10 million acres of farmland.

But you only know these stories on our progress if you actually read the report. Rosa knows that her 2,000-plus colleagues in the Schuyler facility — and many of the rest of us — have little time to stop for reading. But she’s hoping her presence on the cover will make a difference.

“People miss a lot of news because they’re busy. But I’m hoping they will identify with me and say, ‘let’s see what’s in this.’ This is a way for our people to know about the important things that are happening, to know that our company is a good place to work, and to know that Cargill will be there for our friends and colleagues.”