Basis of Presentation	6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2018
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 six months ended June 30, 2018 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2018. 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, 2017. 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. Reclassifications In line with the futures brokerage industry practice, the Company classified $1.2 billion of segregated cash and cash equivalents as restricted cash and cash equivalents in its statement of cash flows for the six months ended June 30, 2018. Prior period amounts have been restated to conform to the current presentation which resulted in an increase of $520 million in total cash provided by operating activities for the six months ended June 30, 2017 and an increase of $1.4 billion in the ending balance of restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents as of June 30, 2017. The Company classified $4.0 billion of cash inflows from net consideration received for beneficial interest obtained for selling trade receivables as investing instead of operating activities for the six months ended June 30, 2018. Prior period amounts have been restated to conform to the current presentation, which resulted in a decrease of $3.9 billion in total cash provided by operating activities and a corresponding increase in cash provided by investing activities for the six months ended June 30, 2017. See Note 2 for more information about the adoption of Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) Topic 230, Statement of Cash Flows. The Company classified income of $2 million and $5 million of other components of net benefit cost as other (income) expense - net in its consolidated statement of earnings for the quarter and six months ended June 30, 2018, respectively, as a result of the adoption of the amended guidance of ASC Topic 715, Compensation - Retirement Benefits (see Note 2 for more information). Amounts previously reported with the service cost component of net benefit cost in cost of goods sold of $5 million and $9 million and selling, general, and administrative expenses of $6 million and $11 million for the quarter and six months ended June 30, 2017, respectively, have been reclassified to other (income) expense - net for the periods then ended to conform to the current presentation. Effective January 1, 2018, the Company changed its segment reporting to reflect changes in its operating structure: Origination (formerly Agricultural Services), Oilseeds (formerly Oilseeds Processing), Carbohydrate Solutions (formerly Corn Processing) and Nutrition (formerly Wild Flavors and Specialty Ingredients). The European origination business previously reported in Oilseeds is now managed by leaders in Origination to better coordinate continental trading activities. Carbohydrate Solutions now includes the results of ADM Milling which were previously reported in Origination. Nutrition now includes the results of Animal Nutrition and certain product lines previously reported in Carbohydrate Solutions, as well as certain product lines previously reported in Oilseeds. Throughout this quarterly report on Form 10-Q, prior period results of the product lines and businesses previously reported in the other reportable business segments have been reclassified to conform to the current period presentation. Segregated Cash and Investments The Company segregates certain cash, cash equivalents, 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 six months ended June 30, 2018 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2018. 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, 2017.

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.

Reclassifications

In line with the futures brokerage industry practice, the Company classified $1.2 billion of segregated cash and cash equivalents as restricted cash and cash equivalents in its statement of cash flows for the six months ended June 30, 2018. Prior period amounts have been restated to conform to the current presentation which resulted in an increase of $520 million in total cash provided by operating activities for the six months ended June 30, 2017 and an increase of $1.4 billion in the ending balance of restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents as of June 30, 2017.

The Company classified $4.0 billion of cash inflows from net consideration received for beneficial interest obtained for selling trade receivables as investing instead of operating activities for the six months ended June 30, 2018. Prior period amounts have been restated to conform to the current presentation, which resulted in a decrease of $3.9 billion in total cash provided by operating activities and a corresponding increase in cash provided by investing activities for the six months ended June 30, 2017. See Note 2 for more information about the adoption of Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) Topic 230, Statement of Cash Flows.

The Company classified income of $2 million and $5 million of other components of net benefit cost as other (income) expense - net in its consolidated statement of earnings for the quarter and six months ended June 30, 2018, respectively, as a result of the adoption of the amended guidance of ASC Topic 715, Compensation - Retirement Benefits (see Note 2 for more information). Amounts previously reported with the service cost component of net benefit cost in cost of goods sold of $5 million and $9 million and selling, general, and administrative expenses of $6 million and $11 million for the quarter and six months ended June 30, 2017, respectively, have been reclassified to other (income) expense - net for the periods then ended to conform to the current presentation.

Effective January 1, 2018, the Company changed its segment reporting to reflect changes in its operating structure: Origination (formerly Agricultural Services), Oilseeds (formerly Oilseeds Processing), Carbohydrate Solutions (formerly Corn Processing) and Nutrition (formerly Wild Flavors and Specialty Ingredients). The European origination business previously reported in Oilseeds is now managed by leaders in Origination to better coordinate continental trading activities. Carbohydrate Solutions now includes the results of ADM Milling which were previously reported in Origination. Nutrition now includes the results of Animal Nutrition and certain product lines previously reported in Carbohydrate Solutions, as well as certain product lines previously reported in Oilseeds. Throughout this quarterly report on Form 10-Q, prior period results of the product lines and businesses previously reported in the other reportable business segments have been reclassified to conform to the current period presentation.

Segregated Cash and Investments

The Company segregates certain cash, cash equivalents, 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.