Basis of Presentation	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2017
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Basis of Presentation	Basis of Presentation The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, these statements do not include all of the information and footnotes required by generally accepted accounting principles for audited financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals) considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. Operating results for the quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2017 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2017. For further information, refer to the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016. Principles of Consolidation The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its subsidiaries. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated. The Company consolidates all entities, including variable interest entities (VIEs), in which it has a controlling financial interest. For VIEs, the Company assesses whether it is the primary beneficiary as defined under the applicable accounting standard. Investments in affiliates, including VIEs through which the Company exercises significant influence but does not control the investee and is not the primary beneficiary of the investee’s activities, are carried at cost plus equity in undistributed earnings since acquisition and are adjusted, where appropriate, for basis differences between the investment balance and the underlying net assets of the investee. The Company’s portion of the results of certain affiliates and results of certain VIEs are included using the most recent available financial statements. In each case, the financial statements are within 93 days of the Company’s year end and are consistent from period to period. Retirement Benefit Changes On July 31, 2017, the Company announced that all participants in the Company’s U.S. salaried pension plan and the Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan (SERP) will begin accruing benefits under the cash balance formula effective January 1, 2022. Benefits for participants who were accruing under the final average pay formula will be frozen as of December 31, 2021, including pay and service through that date. This change, along with other changes in participation associated with divestitures and restructuring, triggered a remeasurement of the salaried pension plan and the SERP resulting in decreases in the fiscal 2017 pension expense, accumulated other comprehensive loss, and underfunded status by $18 million, $182 million, and $164 million, respectively. Concurrent with this change, the Company also changed the method used to estimate the service and interest cost components of the net periodic pension and postretirement benefit costs for its U.S. plans. The new method uses the spot rate yield curve approach to estimate the service and interest costs. Previously, those costs were determined using a single weighted-average discount rate applied to all future cash outflows. The change does not affect the measurement of the Company’s benefit obligations and was accounted for as a change in accounting estimate in accordance with the guidance of ASC Topic 250, Accounting Estimates and Error Corrections, thereby impacting the current and future quarters. The impact of this change on after-tax earnings and diluted earnings per share for the quarter ended September 30, 2017 was immaterial. Reclassifications The Company classified $17 million and $49 million of fees from its U.S. futures commission brokerage business in cost of products sold in the quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2017, respectively. Prior period amounts of $15 million and $50 million in the quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2016, respectively, have been reclassified from selling, general, and administrative expenses in the consolidated statement of earnings to conform to the current presentation. In the quarter ended June 30, 2017, the Company began presenting certain specified items separately from the individual business segments, as further described in Note 14. In line with the futures brokerage industry practice, the Company has correctly classified $1.2 billion of segregated cash and cash equivalents as restricted cash and cash equivalents in the statement of cash flows effective September 30, 2017. Prior period amounts have been restated to conform to the current presentation which resulted in an increase of $145 million in total cash provided by operating activities for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 and an increase of $938 million in the ending balance of cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, and restricted cash equivalents as of September 30, 2016. Segregated Cash and Investments The Company segregates certain cash, cash equivalent, and investment balances in accordance with regulatory requirements, commodity exchange requirements, and insurance arrangements. These balances represent deposits received from customers of the Company’s registered futures commission merchant and commodity brokerage services, cash margins and securities pledged to commodity exchange clearinghouses, and cash pledged as security under certain insurance arrangements. Segregated cash and investments also include restricted cash collateral for the various insurance programs of the Company’s captive insurance business. To the degree these segregated balances are comprised of cash and cash equivalents, they are considered restricted cash and cash equivalents on the statement of cash flows. Last-in, First-out (LIFO) Inventories Interim period LIFO calculations are based on interim period costs and management’s estimates of year-end inventory levels. Because the availability and price of agricultural commodity-based LIFO inventories are unpredictable due to factors such as weather, government farm programs and policies, and changes in global demand, quantities of LIFO-based inventories at interim periods may vary significantly from management’s estimates of year-end inventory levels.

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, these statements do not include all of the information and footnotes required by generally accepted accounting principles for audited financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals) considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. Operating results for the quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2017 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2017. For further information, refer to the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016.

Principles of Consolidation

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its subsidiaries. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated. The Company consolidates all entities, including variable interest entities (VIEs), in which it has a controlling financial interest. For VIEs, the Company assesses whether it is the primary beneficiary as defined under the applicable accounting standard. Investments in affiliates, including VIEs through which the Company exercises significant influence but does not control the investee and is not the primary beneficiary of the investee’s activities, are carried at cost plus equity in undistributed earnings since acquisition and are adjusted, where appropriate, for basis differences between the investment balance and the underlying net assets of the investee. The Company’s portion of the results of certain affiliates and results of certain VIEs are included using the most recent available financial statements. In each case, the financial statements are within 93 days of the Company’s year end and are consistent from period to period.

Retirement Benefit Changes

On July 31, 2017, the Company announced that all participants in the Company’s U.S. salaried pension plan and the Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan (SERP) will begin accruing benefits under the cash balance formula effective January 1, 2022. Benefits for participants who were accruing under the final average pay formula will be frozen as of December 31, 2021, including pay and service through that date.

This change, along with other changes in participation associated with divestitures and restructuring, triggered a remeasurement of the salaried pension plan and the SERP resulting in decreases in the fiscal 2017 pension expense, accumulated other comprehensive loss, and underfunded status by $18 million, $182 million, and $164 million, respectively.

Concurrent with this change, the Company also changed the method used to estimate the service and interest cost components of the net periodic pension and postretirement benefit costs for its U.S. plans. The new method uses the spot rate yield curve approach to estimate the service and interest costs. Previously, those costs were determined using a single weighted-average discount rate applied to all future cash outflows. The change does not affect the measurement of the Company’s benefit obligations and was accounted for as a change in accounting estimate in accordance with the guidance of ASC Topic 250, Accounting Estimates and Error Corrections, thereby impacting the current and future quarters. The impact of this change on after-tax earnings and diluted earnings per share for the quarter ended September 30, 2017 was immaterial.

Reclassifications

The Company classified $17 million and $49 million of fees from its U.S. futures commission brokerage business in cost of products sold in the quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2017, respectively. Prior period amounts of $15 million and $50 million in the quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2016, respectively, have been reclassified from selling, general, and administrative expenses in the consolidated statement of earnings to conform to the current presentation.

In the quarter ended June 30, 2017, the Company began presenting certain specified items separately from the individual business segments, as further described in Note 14.

In line with the futures brokerage industry practice, the Company has correctly classified $1.2 billion of segregated cash and cash equivalents as restricted cash and cash equivalents in the statement of cash flows effective September 30, 2017. Prior period amounts have been restated to conform to the current presentation which resulted in an increase of $145 million in total cash provided by operating activities for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 and an increase of $938 million in the ending balance of cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, and restricted cash equivalents as of September 30, 2016.

Segregated Cash and Investments

The Company segregates certain cash, cash equivalent, and investment balances in accordance with regulatory requirements, commodity exchange requirements, and insurance arrangements. These balances represent deposits received from customers of the Company’s registered futures commission merchant and commodity brokerage services, cash margins and securities pledged to commodity exchange clearinghouses, and cash pledged as security under certain insurance arrangements. Segregated cash and investments also include restricted cash collateral for the various insurance programs of the Company’s captive insurance business. To the degree these segregated balances are comprised of cash and cash equivalents, they are considered restricted cash and cash equivalents on the statement of cash flows.

Last-in, First-out (LIFO) Inventories

Interim period LIFO calculations are based on interim period costs and management’s estimates of year-end inventory levels. Because the availability and price of agricultural commodity-based LIFO inventories are unpredictable due to factors such as weather, government farm programs and policies, and changes in global demand, quantities of LIFO-based inventories at interim periods may vary significantly from management’s estimates of year-end inventory levels.