Acquisitions (Details)	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended												0 Months Ended		12 Months Ended	0 Months Ended								0 Months Ended		12 Months Ended			12 Months Ended		12 Months Ended		12 Months Ended					0 Months Ended		12 Months Ended	0 Months Ended	3 Months Ended
	Jan. 03, 2015 USD ($)	Sep. 27, 2014 USD ($)	Jun. 28, 2014 USD ($)	Mar. 29, 2014 USD ($)	Dec. 28, 2013 USD ($)	Sep. 28, 2013 USD ($)	Jun. 29, 2013 USD ($)	Mar. 30, 2013 USD ($)	Jan. 03, 2015 USD ($)	Dec. 28, 2013 USD ($)	Dec. 29, 2012 USD ($)	Jan. 03, 2015 Feed Ingredients [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 28, 2013 Feed Ingredients [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 29, 2012 Feed Ingredients [Member] USD ($)	Jan. 03, 2015 Food Ingredients [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 28, 2013 Food Ingredients [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 29, 2012 Food Ingredients [Member] USD ($)	Jan. 03, 2015 Fuel Ingredients [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 28, 2013 Fuel Ingredients [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 29, 2012 Fuel Ingredients [Member] USD ($)	Jan. 07, 2014 Vion Ingredients [Member] USD ($) product brand continent facilities	Jan. 07, 2014 Vion Ingredients [Member] EUR (€)	Jan. 03, 2015 Vion Ingredients [Member] USD ($)	Jan. 07, 2014 Vion Ingredients [Member] Routes [Member] USD ($)	Jan. 07, 2014 Vion Ingredients [Member] Permits [Member] USD ($)	Jan. 07, 2014 Vion Ingredients [Member] Patents and Other Intangibles [Member] USD ($)	Jan. 07, 2014 Vion Ingredients [Member] Feed Ingredients [Member] USD ($)	Jan. 07, 2014 Vion Ingredients [Member] Food Ingredients [Member] USD ($)	Jan. 07, 2014 Vion Ingredients [Member] Fuel Ingredients [Member] USD ($)	Jan. 03, 2015 Rothsay and VION Acquisitions [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 28, 2013 Rothsay and VION Acquisitions [Member] USD ($)	Oct. 28, 2013 Rothsay [Member] USD ($) facilities	Oct. 28, 2013 Rothsay [Member] CAD	Jan. 03, 2015 Rothsay [Member] USD ($)	Jan. 03, 2015 Rothsay [Member] Routes [Member]	Oct. 28, 2013 Rothsay [Member] Routes [Member] USD ($)	Jan. 03, 2015 Rothsay [Member] Permits [Member]	Oct. 28, 2013 Rothsay [Member] Permits [Member] USD ($)	Jan. 03, 2015 Rothsay [Member] Trade Names [Member]	Oct. 28, 2013 Rothsay [Member] Trade Names [Member] USD ($)	Jan. 03, 2015 Rothsay [Member] Non-compete agreements [Member]	Oct. 28, 2013 Rothsay [Member] Non-compete agreements [Member] USD ($)	Oct. 28, 2013 Rothsay [Member] Feed Ingredients [Member] USD ($)	Oct. 28, 2013 Rothsay [Member] Biodiesel [Member] facilities	Oct. 28, 2013 Rothsay [Member] Fuel Ingredients [Member] USD ($)	Oct. 01, 2014 CustomBlendersCompany [Member] USD ($)	Oct. 01, 2014 CustomBlendersCompany [Member] USD ($)	Jan. 03, 2015 Terra Holding Company [Member] USD ($)	Jun. 08, 2012 BioPur Transaction [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 28, 2013 Common Stock [Member] USD ($)	Jan. 02, 2014 Senior Notes [Member] USD ($)	Jan. 07, 2014 Trademarks and Trade Names [Member] Vion Ingredients [Member] USD ($)
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Face amount of debt insturment																																																			$ 500,000,000
Business Combination, Consideration Transferred																					2,200,000,000	1,600,000,000										612,600,000	640,200,000																3,000,000
Foreign Currency Exchange Rate, Translation																					1.3605	1.3605										0.9569	0.9569
Issuance of common stock									8,612,000	843,154,000	2,969,000																																							874,000,000
Cash consideration paid																																	644,500,000
Business Combination, Contingent Receivable																																	4,300,000
Number Of Plants																					68	68										5	5											1
Revenues																							2,100,000,000											207,000,000
Net income	69,943,000	14,318,000	32,757,000	(52,803,000)	22,493,000	27,651,000	26,418,000	32,405,000	64,215,000	108,967,000	130,770,000												19,600,000											15,900,000
Goodwill	1,320,419,000				701,637,000				1,320,419,000	701,637,000	381,369,000	847,594,000	663,897,000	380,893,000	346,153,000	0	0	126,672,000	37,740,000	476,000	702,672,000						223,200,000	375,600,000	103,800,000			262,797,000											224,600,000		38,200,000		5,400,000	61,100,000
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Inventory																					375,306,000											5,479,000															1,600,000
Business Combination, Goodwill Deductible for Tax Purposes, Percent																					33.00%	33.00%										75.00%	75.00%
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets																																																				32,000,000
Acquired finite-lived Intangible assets, weighted-average useful life																								10 years	15 years	25 years									21 years		13 years		4 years		7 years					14 years		12 years	9 years
Business Acquisition, Transaction Costs																														24,400,000	22,200,000	10,800,000
Deferred Finance Costs, Gross																																14,400,000
Payments to Acquire Businesses, Net of Cash Acquired									2,094,400,000	734,075,000	3,000,000																																			18,800,000		122,100,000
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Net [Abstract]
Property and equipment																					981,009,000											138,175,000															3,200,000	27,700,000	600,000
Identifiable intangibles																								190,200,000	225,600,000	16,500,000						240,386,000				172,600,000		55,600,000		9,000,000		3,200,000					8,600,000	46,200,000	2,400,000
Deferred tax liability																					350,003,000											15,031,000																19,500,000
Working Capital																																																6,600,000
Business Acquisition, Goodwill, Expected Tax Deductible Amount																																																5,200,000
Number of Continents in which Entity Operates																					5	5
Number of Brands Entity Operates																					6	6
Number Of Products In Portfolio																					400	400
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Cash and Equivalents																					$ 91,166,000