Below you can find the list of Top 5 Largest Agricultural Companies by Revenue in the US . For a detailed coverage of this topic and a more comprehensive list, please see this article.
5. Perdue Farms
Total revenue of the company in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 7,100
Perdue Farms owns both Perdue Foods and Perdue Agribusiness, where the former is involved in the processing of pork, beef and chicken, while the latter is actually among the biggest grain companies in the United States. It has around 21,000 employees and turned a hundred years old in 2020.
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4. The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS)
Total revenue of the company in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 8,900
The Mosaic Company is the biggest fertilizer company in the US, being the country’s biggest producer of phosphate and potash fertilizer. The company is one of the more recent ones in the list, having been established 16 years ago in 2004. It was majority owned by Cargill from its inception to 2011, which was the year when Cargill divested completely from the company. It is headquartered in Tampa, Florida and has around 12,600 employees.
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3. AGCO (NYSE:AGCO)
Total revenue of the company in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 9,040
AGCO is involved in the manufacture of agricultural machinery and is an extremely important player in this sector. AGCO was formerly known as the Allis-Gleaner Corporation, thought the company simply goes by AGCO now. The company was founded 30 years ago in 1990 after the merger of two major companies, and has assets of around $7.76 billion, while its operating income has fallen to around $350 million. The company has around 21,000 employees and has many major brands including Challenger, GSI, Gleaner, Massey Ferguson and Valtra.
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2. Tyson Foods (NYSE:TSN)
Total revenue of the company in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 42,405
Tyson Foods is one of the largest FMCG companies in the world, and operates primarily in the food industry. It is the second largest processor as well as marketer of beef, pork and chicken in the world after JBS, which is a Brazilian company. It is the biggest meat exporter in the United States as well, and employs over 140,000 people and you will most likely be some its biggest brands which include Ball Park, Wright Brand, Jimmy Dean, State Fair and Hillshire Farm.
The company attracted significant negative attention for controversial practices over the years, but perhaps the biggest came during the current year amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, when it failed to adopt best practices and SOPs to avoid the spread of Covid-19 within its factories, with resulted in multiple outbreaks and multiple plants belong to the company having to close down for a period of time. In August 2020, it was reported that over 10,000 employees had been affected by Covid-19 a percentage significantly higher than the national average.
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1. Cargill
Total revenue of the company in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 113,500
Topping the list of the 5 biggest agricultural companies by revenue in the US is Cargill, and it is so far ahead of its competition, it’s like Lewis Hamilton in the F1 championship. Of the combined revenues of the top 10 agricultural companies in the US, more than 56% comes from Cargill alone, which is also the largest private company in the entire United States by revenue. Founded in 1865, the companies is 155 years old and has been majority owned by the Cargill family which is one of the wealthiest families in the world. And with 14 separate billionaires in the family, it is also the family with the most billionaires in the entire world. Had it been a public company, it would’ve ranked number 15 in the Fortune 500 list of biggest companies in the US.
The company also owns assets of nearly $60 billion, while also having a net income crossing the $3 billion threshold. It provides employment to over 166,000 people and is majorly involved in the purchasing, trading and and distribution of gain, in addition to various other agricultural commodities which includes the likes of palm oil. Further, the company has also been known to be involved in raising livestock and producing feed in addition to other food products which can include glucose syrup, vegetable oil, fats and starch. It used to own two thirds of the biggest fertilizer company in the world as well, in the Mosaic Company, though this share was sold off back in 2011. A quarter of all US grain exports are made through Cargill, showcasing its size, strength and power. A surprising fact that many people may now know is that every egg used in McDonalds, which is one of the largest fast food restaurants in the world, is sourced from one of the factories of Cargill.
As is true for all major companies, Cargill has often been found engaged in various controversies which has seen its reputation diminish, with human rights abuses and land grabs topping the list. In addition to these two accusations, it has also been accused of food contamination, deforestation, tax evasion and air pollution, all of which are grievous charges on their own, let alone combined.
See also: 10 largest fruit and vegetable producing countries in the world and top 25 agricultural producing companies in the world
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