Accounts and Notes Receivable (Notes)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Accounts and Notes Receivable [Abstract]

Loans, Notes, Trade and Other Receivables Disclosure [Text Block]

ACCOUNTS AND NOTES RECEIVABLE - NET



(In millions)	September 30, 2019		December 31, 2018		September 30, 2018
Accounts receivable – trade¹	$	3,969	$	3,649	$	3,559
Notes receivable – trade²	1,403		194		1,605
Other³	1,202		1,417		1,383
Total accounts and notes receivable - net	$	6,574	$	5,260	$	6,547


^1.	Accounts receivable – trade is net of allowances of $170 million at September 30, 2019, $127 million at December 31, 2018, and $105 million at September 30, 2018. Allowances are equal to the estimated uncollectible amounts. That estimate is based on historical collection experience, current economic and market conditions, and review of the current status of customers' accounts.

^2.

Notes receivable – trade primarily consists of receivables for deferred payment loan programs for the sale of seed products to customers. These loans have terms of one year or less and are primarily concentrated in North America. The company maintains a rigid pre-approval process for extending credit to customers in order to manage overall risk and exposure associated with credit losses. As of September 30, 2019, December 31, 2018, and September 30, 2018 there were no significant past due notes receivable which required a reserve, nor were there any significant impairments related to current loan agreements.


^3.	Other includes receivables in relation to indemnification assets, value added tax, general sales tax and other taxes. No individual group represents more than 10 percent of total receivables. In addition Other includes amounts due from nonconsolidated affiliates of $127 million, $101 million, and $87 million as of September 30, 2019, December 31, 2018, and September 30, 2018, respectively.

Accounts and notes receivable are carried at amounts that approximate fair value.

The company enters into various factoring agreements with third-party financial institutions to sell its trade receivables under both recourse and non-recourse agreements in exchange for cash proceeds. These financing arrangements result in a transfer of the company's receivables and risks to the third-party. As these transfers qualify as true sales under the applicable accounting guidance, the receivables are derecognized from the Consolidated Balance Sheets upon transfer, and the company receives a payment for the receivables from the third-party within a mutually agreed upon time period. For arrangements involving an element of recourse, which is typically provided through a guarantee of accounts in the event of customer default, the guarantee obligation is measured using market data from similar transactions and reported as a current liability in the Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Trade receivables sold under these agreements were $13 million and $97 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019, respectively, and $42 million and $90 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018, respectively. The trade receivables sold that remained outstanding under these agreements which include an element of recourse as of September 30, 2019, December 31, 2018, and September 30, 2018 were $61 million, $37 million, and $23 million, respectively. The net proceeds received were included in cash provided by operating activities in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. The difference between the carrying amount of the trade receivables sold and the sum of the cash received is recorded as a loss on sale of receivables in other income - net in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. The loss on sale of receivables was $4 million and $41 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019, respectively, and $9 million and $19 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018, respectively. The guarantee obligations recorded as of September 30, 2019, December 31, 2018, and September 30, 2018 in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets were not material. See Note 18 - Commitments and Contingent Liabilities for additional information on the company’s guarantees.