Item 1. BUSINESS

Company Overview

Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (the Company) was incorporated in Delaware in 1923, successor to the Daniels Linseed Co. founded in 1902. The Company is one of the world’s largest processors of oilseeds, corn, wheat, cocoa, and other agricultural commodities and is a leading manufacturer of protein meal, vegetable oil, corn sweeteners, flour, biodiesel, ethanol, and other value-added food and feed ingredients. The Company also has an extensive global grain elevator and transportation network to procure, store, clean, and transport agricultural commodities, such as oilseeds, corn, wheat, milo, oats, and barley, as well as processed agricultural commodities. The Company has significant investments in joint ventures. The Company expects to benefit from these investments, which typically aim to expand or enhance the Company’s market for its products or offer other benefits including, but not limited to, geographic or product line expansion.

The Company’s vision is to be the most admired global agribusiness while creating value and growing responsibly. The Company’s strategy involves expanding the volume and diversity of crops that it merchandises and processes, expanding the global reach of its core model, and expanding its value-added product portfolio. The Company seeks to serve vital needs by connecting the harvest to the home and transforming crops into food and energy products. The Company desires to execute this vision and these strategies by conducting its business in accordance with its core values of operating with integrity, treating others with respect, achieving excellence, being resourceful, displaying teamwork, and being responsible.

During the past five years, the Company significantly expanded its agricultural commodity processing and handling capacity through construction of new plants, expansion of existing plants, and the acquisition of plants and transportation equipment. There have been no significant dispositions during the last five years.

The Company’s current and prior fiscal years ended annually on June 30. On May 3, 2012, the Board of Directors of the Company determined, in accordance with its Bylaws and upon the recommendation of the Audit Committee, that the Company’s fiscal year shall begin on January 1 and end on December 31 of each year, starting January 1, 2013. The Company will report on a Form 10-K its transition period of July 1, 2012 to December 31, 2012.

Segment Descriptions

The Company’s operations are classified into three reportable business segments: Oilseeds Processing, Corn Processing, and Agricultural Services. Each of these segments is organized based upon the nature of products and services offered. The Company’s remaining operations are not reportable business segments, as defined by the applicable accounting standard, and are classified as Other. Financial information with respect to the Company’s reportable business segments is set forth in Note 18 of “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements” included in Item 8 herein, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.”

During fiscal 2012, the Company reorganized and streamlined its business unit reporting structure and broadened management spans of control. Starting with this annual report on Form 10-K, the Oilseeds Processing reportable segment includes cocoa processing operations while the Agricultural Services reportable segment includes wheat processing operations. The Corn Processing reportable segment, which includes sweeteners and starches and bioproducts, remains unchanged. The Company’s remaining operations, which include its financial business units, will continue to be classified as Other. Also, during fiscal 2012, the Company discontinued the allocation of interest expense from Corporate to the operating segments. Throughout this annual report on Form 10-K, prior periods have been reclassified to conform to current period segment presentation.

Oilseeds Processing

The Oilseeds Processing segment includes global activities related to the origination, merchandising, crushing, and further processing of oilseeds such as soybeans and soft seeds (cottonseed, sunflower seed, canola, rapeseed, and flaxseed) into vegetable oils and protein meals. Oilseeds products produced and marketed by the Company include ingredients for the food, feed, energy, and industrial products industries. Crude vegetable oils produced by the segment’s crushing activities are sold “as is” or are further processed by refining, blending, bleaching, and deodorizing into salad oils. Salad oils are sold “as is” or are further processed by hydrogenating and/or interesterifying into margarine, shortening, and other food products. Partially refined oils are used to produce biodiesel or are sold to other manufacturers for use in chemicals, paints, and other industrial products. Oilseed protein meals are principally sold to third parties to be used as ingredients in commercial livestock and poultry feeds. In Europe and South America, the Oilseeds Processing segment includes origination and merchandising activities as adjuncts to its oilseeds processing assets. These activities include a network of grain elevators, port facilities, and transportation assets used to buy, store, clean, and transport grains and oilseeds. The Oilseeds Processing segment produces natural health and nutrition products and other specialty food and feed ingredients. In North America, cottonseed flour is produced and sold primarily to the pharmaceutical industry and cotton cellulose pulp is manufactured and sold to the chemical, paper, and filter markets. In South America, the Oilseeds Processing segment operates fertilizer blending facilities.

The Company has a 16.4% ownership interest in Wilmar International Limited (Wilmar), a Singapore publicly listed company. Wilmar, a leading agribusiness group in Asia, is engaged in the businesses of oil palm cultivation, oilseeds crushing, edible oils refining, sugar, consumer pack edible oils processing and merchandising, specialty fats, oleo chemicals, biodiesel, fertilizers and soy protein manufacturing, rice and flour milling, and grains merchandising.

The Oilseeds Processing segment also includes activities related to the procurement, transportation and processing of cocoa beans into cocoa liquor, cocoa butter, cocoa powder, chocolate, and various compounds in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa for the food industry.

Effective December 31, 2010, the Company acquired Alimenta (USA) Inc., and as a result of the transaction, now owns 100% of Golden Peanut Company LLC (Golden Peanut). Golden Peanut is a major supplier of peanuts and peanut-derived ingredients to both the U.S. and export markets and operator of a peanut shelling facility in Argentina. The Company began consolidating the operating results of Golden Peanut in the third quarter of fiscal 2011.

Stratas Foods LLC, a joint venture between the Company and ACH Jupiter, LLC, a subsidiary of Associated British Foods, procures, packages, and sells edible oils in North America. The Company has a 50% ownership interest in this joint venture.

The Company has a 50% interest in Edible Oils Limited, a joint venture between the Company and Princes Limited to procure, package, and sell edible oils in the United Kingdom. The Company also formed a joint venture with Princes Limited in Poland to procure, package, and sell edible oils in Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and Austria.

The Company is a major supplier of agricultural commodity raw materials to Wilmar, Stratas Foods LLC, and Edible Oils Limited.

Corn Processing

The Company’s Corn Processing segment is engaged in corn wet milling and dry milling activities, with its asset base primarily located in the central part of the United States. The Corn Processing segment converts corn into sweeteners and starches, and bioproducts. Its products include ingredients used in the food and beverage industry including sweeteners, starch, syrup, glucose, and dextrose. Dextrose and starch are used by the Corn Processing segment as feedstocks for its bioproducts operations. By fermentation of dextrose, the Corn Processing segment produces alcohol, amino acids, and other specialty food and animal feed ingredients. Ethyl alcohol is produced by the Company for industrial use as ethanol or as beverage grade. Ethanol, in gasoline, increases octane and is used as an extender and oxygenate. The Corn Processing segment also includes amino acids such as lysine and threonine that are vital compounds used in swine feeds to produce leaner animals and in poultry feeds to enhance the speed and efficiency of poultry production. Corn gluten feed and meal, as well as distillers’ grains, are produced for use as animal feed ingredients. Corn germ, a by-product of the wet milling process, is further processed into vegetable oil and protein meal. Other Corn Processing products include citric and lactic acids, lactates, sorbitol, xanthan gum, and glycols which are used in various food and industrial products. The Corn Processing segment includes the activities of a propylene and ethylene glycol facility and the Company’s Brazilian sugarcane ethanol plant and related activities.

In fiscal 2012, the Company ended its commercial alliance with Metabolix, Inc. As a result of this decision, Telles LLC, the sales and marketing commercial alliance created to commercialize Mirel™, a bio-based plastic, will be dissolved and the production of Mirel™ on behalf of Telles LLC has ended.

Almidones Mexicanos S.A., in which the Company has a 50% interest, operates a wet corn milling plant in Mexico.

Eaststarch C.V. (Netherlands), in which the Company has a 50% interest, owns interests in companies that operate wet corn milling plants in Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovakia, and Turkey.

Red Star Yeast Company, LLC produces and sells fresh and dry yeast in the United States and Canada. The Company has a 40% ownership interest in this joint venture.

Agricultural Services

The Agricultural Services segment utilizes its extensive U.S. grain elevator, global transportation network, and port operations to buy, store, clean, and transport agricultural commodities, such as oilseeds, corn, wheat, milo, oats, rice, and barley, and resells these commodities primarily as food and feed ingredients and as raw materials for the agricultural processing industry. Agricultural Services’ grain sourcing, handling, and transportation network provides reliable and efficient services to the Company’s customers and agricultural processing operations. Agricultural Services’ transportation network capabilities include barge, ocean-going vessel, truck, and rail freight services.

The Company has a 45% interest in Kalama Export Company, a grain export elevator in Washington.

Alfred C. Toepfer International (Toepfer), in which the Company has an 80% interest, is a global merchandiser of agricultural commodities and processed products. Toepfer has 38 sales offices worldwide and operates inland, river, and export facilities in Argentina, Hungary, Romania, Ukraine, and the United States.

The Agricultural Services segment also includes the activities related to the origination and processing of wheat into wheat flour, the processing and distribution of formula feeds and animal health and nutrition products, and the procurement, processing, and distribution of edible beans.

Gruma S.A.B. de C.V. (Gruma), in which the Company has a 23.2% interest, is the world’s largest producer and marketer of corn flour and tortillas with operations in Mexico, the United States, Central America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Additionally, the Company has a 20% share, through a joint venture with Gruma, in six U.S. corn flour mills and one in Italy. The Company also has a 40% share, through a joint venture with Gruma, in nine Mexican wheat flour mills.

Other

Other includes the Company’s remaining operations, primarily its financial business units, related principally to futures commission merchant activities and captive insurance.

ADM Investor Services, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, is a registered futures commission merchant and a clearing member of all principal commodities exchanges in the U.S. ADM Investor Services International, Ltd., a member of several commodity exchanges and clearing houses in Europe, and ADMIS Hong Kong Limited, are wholly owned subsidiaries of the Company offering broker services in Europe and Asia.

Captive insurance, which includes Agrinational Insurance Company (Agrinational), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, provides insurance coverage for certain property, casualty, marine, credit, and other miscellaneous risks of the Company and participates in certain third-party reinsurance arrangements. ADM Crop Risk Services is a managing general agent which sells and services crop insurance policies to farmers. While Agrinational assumes some of the crop insurance risk, only an immaterial portion of this risk is retained by the Company after third party reinsurance.

On September 30, 2011, the Company sold a majority ownership interest of Hickory Point Bank and Trust Company, fsb (Bank). The Bank was deconsolidated from the Company’s consolidated financial statements in the first quarter of fiscal 2012 resulting in no material effect to ADM’s earnings. The Company accounts for its remaining ownership interest in the Bank under the equity method. The Bank provides public banking and trust services, as well as cash management, transfer agency, and securities safekeeping services, for the Company.

Corporate

Compagnie Industrielle et Financiere des Produits Amylaces SA (Luxembourg) and affiliates, of which the Company has a 41.5% interest, is a joint venture which targets investments in food, feed ingredients and bioenergy businesses.

The Company has various strategic investments in equity securities.

Methods of Distribution

Since the Company’s customers are principally other manufacturers and processors, the Company’s products are distributed mainly in bulk from processing plants or storage facilities directly to customers’ facilities. The Company has developed a comprehensive transportation system to efficiently move both commodities and processed products virtually anywhere in the world. The Company owns or leases large numbers of the trucks, trailers, railroad tank and hopper cars, river barges, towboats, and ocean-going vessels used in this transportation system.

Concentration of Sales by Product

The following products account for 10% or more of net sales and other operating income for the last three fiscal years:

	% of Net Sales and Other Operating Income
	2012		2011		2010

Soybeans		19%		21%		22%
Corn		11%		12%		10%
Soybean Meal		9%		9%		12%

Status of New Products

The Company continues to expand the size and global reach of its business through the development of new products. The Company does not expect any of the following products to have a significant impact on the Company’s net sales and operating income in the next fiscal year.

The Company continues to broaden its portfolio of high stability low trans fats with the introduction of high oleic soy oils. In addition, the Company continues its work to develop vegetable oil products with reduced saturated fats using new oil gelling technology.

The Company has begun commercial production of Clarisoy®, a unique transparent soy protein under an agreement with Burcon Technologies to exclusively manufacture, market and sell the product. Clarisoy® is being used in low pH beverage applications as well as dairy replacement applications at a neutral pH.

New fiber products are also being developed that extend the current Fibersol® soluble fiber products as well as new insoluble fiber products from soybeans.

The Company, along with Phillips 66, is piloting a technology to produce renewable transportation biofuels from biomass and has successfully produced quantities of liquid transportation fuels. The Company is continuing to evaluate the economic viability of the technology.

The Company has developed a number of new biosurfactants for several new markets. Additional new products have been introduced in the agricultural adjuvant market that are used to emulsify herbicides and mineral nutrients in water for spray application on corn and soybean crops. Additional new products have also been developed for inks, paints, and coatings to serve as dispersants for pigments.

The Company is producing commercial volumes of propylene glycol and semi-commercial quantities of isosorbide under its Evolution Chemicals™ line. The Company’s propylene glycol is an industrial ingredient made from glycerin or sorbitol that is a drop-in replacement to petroleum-based propylene glycol. Derived from corn, isosorbide is a versatile chemical building block with wide ranging uses including the production of polyesters, polyurethanes, polycarbonates, epoxy resins, and detergents, surfactants and additives for personal care and consumer products.

Source and Availability of Raw Materials

Substantially all of the Company’s raw materials are agricultural commodities. In any single year, the availability and price of these commodities are subject to factors such as changes in weather conditions, plantings, government programs and policies, competition, changes in global demand, and changes in standards of living, and global production of similar and competitive crops. The Company’s raw materials are procured from thousands of growers, grain elevators, and wholesale merchants in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and Africa, pursuant primarily to short-term (less than one year) agreements or on a spot basis. The Company is not dependent upon any particular grower, elevator, or merchant as a source for its raw materials.

Patents, Trademarks, and Licenses

The Company owns valuable patents, trademarks, and licenses but does not consider any segment of its business dependent upon any single or group of patents, trademarks or licenses.

Seasonality, Working Capital Needs, and Significant Customers

Since the Company is widely diversified in global agribusiness markets, there are no material seasonal fluctuations in overall global processing volumes and the sale and distribution of its products and services. There is a degree of seasonality in the growing cycles, procurement, and transportation of the Company’s principal raw materials: oilseeds, corn, wheat, cocoa beans, sugarcane, and other grains.

The price of agricultural commodities, which may fluctuate significantly and change quickly, directly affects the Company’s working capital requirements. Because the Company has a higher portion of its operations in the northern hemisphere, principally North America and Europe, relative to the southern hemisphere, primarily South America, inventory levels typically peak after the northern hemisphere fall harvest and are generally lower during the northern hemisphere summer months. Working capital requirements have historically trended with inventory levels. No material part of the Company’s business is dependent upon a single customer or very few customers. The Company has seasonal financing arrangements with farmers in certain countries around the world. Typically, advances on these financing arrangements occur during the planting season and are repaid at harvest.

Competition

The Company has significant competition in the markets in which it operates based principally on price, quality, and alternative products, some of which are made from different raw materials than those utilized by the Company. Given the commodity-based nature of many of its businesses, the Company, on an ongoing basis, focuses on managing unit costs and improving efficiency through technology improvements, productivity enhancements, and regular evaluation of the Company’s asset portfolio.

Research and Development Expenditures

The Company’s research and development expenditures are focused on responding to demand from customers’ product development or formulation needs, improving processing efficiency, and developing food, feed, fuel, and industrial products from renewable agricultural crops. Research and development expense during the three years ended June 30, 2012, 2011, and 2010, net of reimbursements of government grants, was approximately $56 million, $60 million, and $56 million, respectively. The Company does not expect these research and development expenses to have a significant effect on net sales and other operating income in the next year.

The Company is working with the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory and other key academic and corporate partners on projects to demonstrate carbon capture and sequestration as a viable option for reducing carbon dioxide emissions from manufacturing operations. The first project, Illinois Basin Decatur Project led by Midwest Geological Sequestration Consortium, has finished construction and started operations in the first quarter of fiscal year 2012. The second project, the Illinois Industrial Carbon Capture & Sequestration, has met the milestone for completing the front end engineering designs and commenced construction in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2012. This facility is expected to be operational in the third quarter of calendar year 2013.

The Company is continuing to invest in research to develop a broad range of industrial chemicals with an objective to produce key chemical building blocks that serve as a platform for producing a variety of commodity chemicals. The key chemical building blocks are derived from the Company’s starch and oilseed-based feedstocks. Conversion technologies include utilizing expertise in both fermentation and catalysis. The chemicals pipeline includes the development of chemicals and intermediates that are currently produced from petrochemical resources as well as new-to-the-market bio-based products. The Company’s current portfolio includes products that are in the early development phase and those that are close to pilot plant demonstration. In an effort to further advance the development of bio-based chemical technologies, the Company has partnered with the Center for Environmentally Beneficial Catalysis and has added research capabilities at the University of Kansas.

Environmental Compliance

During the year ended June 30, 2012, $97 million was spent specifically to improve equipment, facilities, and programs for pollution control and compliance with the requirements of various environmental agencies.

There have been no material effects upon the earnings and competitive position of the Company resulting from compliance with federal, state, and local laws or regulations enacted or adopted relating to the protection of the environment.

The Company’s business could be affected in the future by national and global regulation or taxation of greenhouse gas emissions. In the United States, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has adopted regulations requiring the owners of certain facilities to measure and report their greenhouse gas emissions, and the U.S. EPA has begun a process to regulate these emissions under the Clean Air Act. The U.S. EPA has also adopted rules regarding the construction and operation of new boilers that could greatly limit the construction of new coal-fired boilers. California is also moving forward with various programs to reduce greenhouse gases. Globally, a number of countries that are parties to the Kyoto Protocol have instituted or are considering climate change legislation and regulations. Most notable is the European Union Greenhouse Gas Emission Trading System. The Company has several facilities in Europe that participate in this system. It is difficult at this time to estimate the likelihood of passage, or predict the potential impact, of any additional legislation. Potential consequences could include increased energy, transportation and raw material costs and may require the Company to make additional investments in its facilities and equipment.

Number of Employees

The number of full-time employees of the Company was approximately 30,000 at June 30, 2012.

Financial Information About Foreign and U.S. Operations

Item 1A, “Risk Factors,” and Item 2, “Properties,” includes information relating to the Company’s foreign and U.S. operations. Geographic financial information is set forth in Note 18 of “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements” included in Item 8 herein, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data”.

Available Information

The Company’s internet address is http://www.adm.com. The Company makes available, free of charge, through its website, the Company’s annual reports on Form 10-K; quarterly reports on Form 10-Q; current reports on Form 8-K; Directors and Officers Forms 3, 4, and 5; and amendments to those reports, as soon as reasonably practicable after electronically filing such materials with, or furnishing them to, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

In addition, the Company makes available, through its website, the Company’s Business Code of Conduct and Ethics, Corporate Governance Guidelines, and the written charters of the Audit, Compensation/Succession, Nominating/Corporate Governance, and Executive Committees.

References to our website addressed in this report are provided as a convenience and do not constitute, or should not be viewed as, an incorporation by reference of the information contained on, or available through, the website. Therefore, such information should not be considered part of this report.

The public may read and copy any materials filed by the Company with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. The public may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. The SEC maintains a website which contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file information electronically with the SEC. The SEC’s internet address is http://www.sec.gov.

Item 1A. RISK FACTORS

The availability and prices of the agricultural commodities and agricultural commodity products the Company procures, transports, stores, processes, and merchandises can be affected by weather conditions, disease, government programs, competition, and various other factors beyond the Company’s control and could adversely affect the Company’s operating results.

The availability and prices of agricultural commodities are subject to wide fluctuations due to changes in weather conditions, crop disease, plantings, government programs and policies, competition, changes in global demand, changes in standards of living, and global production of similar and competitive crops. These factors have historically caused volatility in the availability and prices of agricultural commodities and, consequently, in the Company’s operating results. Reduced supply of agricultural commodities due to weather-related factors or other reasons could adversely affect the Company’s profitability by increasing the cost of raw materials and/or limiting the Company’s ability to procure, transport, store, process, and merchandise agricultural commodities in an efficient manner.

The Company has significant competition in the markets in which it operates.

The Company faces significant competition in each of its businesses and has numerous competitors. The company competes for the acquisition of inputs such as agricultural commodities, workforce, and other materials and supplies. Additionally, competitors offer similar products and services, as well as alternative products and services, to the Company’s customers. The Company is dependent on being able to generate net sales and other operating income in excess of cost of products sold in order to obtain margins, profits, and cash flows to meet or exceed its targeted financial performance measures and provide cash for operating, working capital, dividend, or capital expenditure needs. Competition impacts the Company’s ability to generate and increase its gross profit as a result of the following factors. Pricing of the Company’s products is partly dependent upon industry processing capacity, which is impacted by competitor actions to bring on-line idled capacity or to build new production capacity. Many of the products bought and sold by the Company are global commodities or are derived from global commodities. The markets for global commodities are highly price competitive and in many cases the commodities are subject to substitution. To compete effectively, the Company focuses on improving efficiency in its production and distribution operations, developing and maintaining appropriate market share, and providing high levels of customer service. Competition could increase the Company’s costs to purchase raw materials, lower selling prices of its products, or reduce the Company’s market share, which may result in lower and more inefficient operating rates and reduced gross profit.

Item 1A. RISK FACTORS (Continued)

Fluctuations in energy prices could adversely affect the Company’s operating results.

The Company’s operating costs and the selling prices of certain finished products are sensitive to changes in energy prices. The Company’s processing plants are powered principally by electricity, natural gas, and coal. The Company’s transportation operations are dependent upon diesel fuel and other petroleum-based products. Significant increases in the cost of these items, including any consequences of regulation or taxation of greenhouse gases, could adversely affect the Company’s production costs and operating results.

The Company has certain finished products, such as ethanol and biodiesel, which are closely related to, or may be substituted for, petroleum products. Therefore, the selling prices of ethanol and biodiesel can be impacted by the selling prices of gasoline and diesel fuel. A significant decrease in the price of gasoline or diesel fuel could result in a significant decrease in the selling price of the Company’s ethanol and biodiesel and could adversely affect the Company’s revenues and operating results.

The Company is subject to economic downturns, which could adversely affect the Company’s operating results.

The Company conducts its business and has substantial assets located in many countries and geographic areas. The Company’s operations are principally in the United States and developed countries in Western Europe and South America, but the Company also operates in, or plans to expand or develop its business in, emerging market areas such as Asia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Both developed and emerging market areas are subject to impacts of economic downturns, including decreased demand for the Company’s products, reduced availability of credit, or declining credit quality of the Company’s suppliers, customers, and other counterparties. In addition, emerging market areas could be subject to more volatile economic, political and market conditions. Economic downturns, such as what has occurred in Europe brought about by the European debt crisis, and volatile market conditions could adversely affect the Company’s operating results and ability to execute its business strategies.

Government policies, mandates, and regulations, in general; government policies, mandates, and regulations specifically affecting the agricultural sector and related industries; and political instability and other risks of doing business globally could adversely affect the Company’s operating results.

Agricultural production and trade flows are subject to government policies, mandates, and regulations. Governmental policies affecting the agricultural industry, such as taxes, tariffs, duties, subsidies, incentives, and import and export restrictions on agricultural commodities and commodity products, including policies related to genetically modified organisms, renewable fuel, and low carbon fuel mandates, can influence the planting of certain crops, the location and size of crop production, whether unprocessed or processed commodity products are traded, the volume and types of imports and exports, the availability and competitiveness of feedstocks as raw materials, the viability and volume of production of certain of the Company’s products, and industry profitability. In addition, international trade disputes can adversely affect agricultural commodity trade flows by limiting or disrupting trade between countries or regions. Future government policies may adversely affect the supply of, demand for, and prices of the Company’s products; restrict the Company’s ability to do business in its existing and target markets; and adversely affect the Company’s revenues and operating results.

The Company’s operating results could be affected by changes in other governmental policies, mandates, and regulations including monetary, fiscal and environmental policies, laws, and regulations, and other activities of governments, agencies, and similar organizations. These risks include but are not limited to changes in a country’s or region’s economic or political conditions, local labor conditions and regulations, reduced protection of intellectual property rights, changes in the regulatory or legal environment, restrictions on currency exchange activities, currency exchange fluctuations, burdensome taxes and tariffs, enforceability of legal agreements and judgments, adverse tax, administrative agency or judicial outcomes, and regulation or taxation of greenhouse gases. International risks and uncertainties, including changing social and economic conditions as well as terrorism, political hostilities, and war, could limit the Company’s ability to transact business in these markets and could adversely affect the Company’s revenues and operating results.

Item 1A. RISK FACTORS (Continued)

The Company is subject to industry-specific risks which could adversely affect the Company’s operating results.

The Company is subject to risks which include, but are not limited to, product quality or contamination; shifting consumer preferences; federal, state, and local food processing regulations; socially acceptable farming practices; environmental, health and safety regulations; and customer product liability claims. The liability which could result from certain of these risks may not always be covered by, or could exceed liability insurance related to product liability and food safety matters maintained by the Company. In addition, negative publicity caused by product liability and food safety matters may damage the Company’s reputation. The occurrence of any of the matters described above could adversely affect the Company’s revenues and operating results.

Certain of the Company’s merchandised commodities and finished products are used as ingredients in livestock and poultry feed. The Company is subject to risks associated with the outbreak of disease in livestock and poultry. An outbreak of disease could adversely affect demand for the Company’s products used as ingredients in livestock and poultry feed. A decrease in demand for these products could adversely affect the Company’s revenues and operating results.

The Company is subject to numerous laws, regulations, and mandates globally which could adversely affect the Company’s operating results.

The Company does business globally, connecting crops and markets in over 160 countries. The Company is required to comply with the numerous and broad-reaching laws and regulations administered by United States federal, state and local, and foreign governmental authorities. The Company must comply with other general business regulations such as those directed toward accounting and income taxes, anti-corruption, anti-bribery, global trade, handling of regulated substances, and other commercial activities, conducted by the Company’s employees and third party representatives globally. Any failure to comply with applicable laws and regulations could subject the Company to administrative penalties and injunctive relief, civil remedies including fines, injunctions, and recalls of its products, and damage to its reputation.

The production of the Company’s products requires the use of materials which can create emissions of certain regulated substances, including greenhouse gas emissions. Although the Company has programs in place throughout the organization globally to guard against non-compliance, failure to comply with these regulations can have serious consequences, including civil and administrative penalties as well as a negative impact on the Company’s reputation, business, cash flows, and results of operations.

In addition, changes to regulations or implementation of additional regulations, for example the imposition of regulatory restrictions on greenhouse gases, may require the Company to modify existing processing facilities and/or processes which could significantly increase operating costs and adversely affect operating results.

The Company is exposed to potential business disruption, including but not limited to disruption of transportation services, supply of non-commodity raw materials used in its processing operations, and other impacts resulting from acts of terrorism or war, natural disasters, severe weather conditions, and accidents which could adversely affect the Company’s operating results.

The Company’s operations rely on dependable and efficient transportation services. A disruption in transportation services could result in difficulties supplying materials to the Company’s facilities and impair the Company’s ability to deliver products to its customers in a timely manner. In addition, if certain non-agricultural commodity raw materials, such as water or certain chemicals used in the Company’s processing operations, are not available, the Company’s business could be disrupted. Certain factors which may impact the availability of non-agricultural commodity raw materials are out of the Company’s control including, but not limited to, disruptions resulting from weather, economic conditions, manufacturing delays or disruptions at suppliers, shortage of materials, and unavailable or poor supplier credit conditions.

The assets and operations of the Company could be subject to extensive property damage and business disruption from various events which include, but are not limited to, acts of terrorism or war, natural disasters and severe weather conditions, accidents, explosions, and fires. The potential effects of these conditions could adversely affect the Company’s revenues and operating results.

ADM - Archer-daniels-midland Company