An agricultural company gets busy with the business related to farming. It offers services to an agricultural enterprise and gets involved in the process, production, management, and distribution of agricultural products. Some agriculture companies supply the farmers with necessities such as seeds, fertilizers, soil, and more. Other companies help the farmers with marketing, distribution, packaging, transportation, and more. Let’s find out Largest Agricultural Companies.
Agricultural companies across the globe have worked a lot to enhance the quality, processes, and outcomes related to agriculture. This article elaborates on how they work to boost agricultural standards. We will also learn about their revenue, the total number of employees, headquarters, and more.
Importance Of Agricultural Companies
On the one hand, American agriculture got dominated by industrialization after the Second World War. On the other hand, farmers in the world, including the United States, fulfill most food requirements. They stand as the backbone for developing nations. The farmers might also win a negotiation in the market.
The following are the points representing the importance of agricultural companies:
- Employment
Expenditure on food increases in developing countries. However, agricultural companies play a vital role in offering better employment opportunities to those who need them. America gave rise to 19.7 million jobs in this industry in 2020. So, these jobs are fewer but better.
- Contribution To The Economy
In 2019, agriculture and related industries contributed more than $1,000 billion, whereas this contribution was only around $750 in 2009. So, we can see how the contribution of agricultural companies in the US increased over ten years. More than 20% of the farm produce in the US gets exported.
- Inclusion Of Technology
Agricultural companies are no longer away from technology. They use temperature sensors, GPS, irrigation drones, planting robots, automated irrigation, moisture sensors, and different analytical tools. It helps many individuals to work in the technical and agricultural fields at a time.
- Trademarks
Agricultural companies impose trademarks on their produce. It eliminates the unnecessary ban on food, especially in the case of exportation. These companies can easily explain what their product contains to the world. It earns customer trust and creates a loyal customer base.
Largest Agricultural Companies
The following are some largest agricultural companies in the world:
- ADM
ADM stands for Archer-Daniels-Midland. This company respects food as it sustains us and leads to our betterment. It goes hand in hand with different organizations to deal with education, sustainable agriculture, and hunger relief. The headquarters of this company is in Chicago and has been standing still since 1902. Its products include wheat flour, sweeteners, chocolate, oils, starch, syrup, and more.
ADM solves nutritional challenges around the globe and serves 53 areas in Spain, India, Thailand, Germany, France, Egypt, Japan, and more. It shows the global reach of the company. ADM also cares for animal nutrition by offering better feed products, related ingredients, and supplements to improve animal health.
Number Of Employees
It employed more than 38,000 employees as reported in 2020.
Revenue
In 2021, its revenue was $80.13 billion.
ADM makes money by producing, processing, and distributing raw materials such as wheat, oilseeds, and corn to get chemicals, beverages, food, and animal feed.
- Yara
Yara International aims at making a hunger-free and collaborating society as a tribute to the planet. The headquarters of this chemical company is in Norway and has been working since 1905. It specializes in agriculture, food security, fighting against air pollution, and making mineral fertilizer, ammonia, nitrates, and urea. Yara is one of the companies that produce synthetic fertilizers on a large scale.
Yara has more knowledge related to crop nutrition. Thus, it can guide the farmers accordingly. Understanding this company is not a cakewalk. However, this company has contributed much to air, water, soil pollution, and global warming.
Number Of Employees
It employed more than 15,000 employees as reported in 2021.
Revenue
Its revenue in 2021 was $4.5 billion.
Yara makes most of the money from the production and distribution of fertilizers.
- Syngenta
The Syngenta Group, headquartered in Switzerland, offers science, technology, methods, and products related to crop protection and its overall care. It also aims at providing sustainable agriculture, biotechnology, and safe and healthy food. The company was founded in 2000 and makes products such as pesticides, insecticides, nutrients, and crops.
This agrochemical company gets spread across more than 100 countries, and farmers are its customers. The company innovates to deal with the loss of biodiversity, changing climate, uninterested people in farming, and soil erosion. However, some of its pesticides get listed as highly hazardous.
Number Of Employees
It has more than 10,000 employees as of now.
Revenue
It made revenue of $14.29 billion in 2020.
- Corteva Agriscience
Corteva Agriscience is an American seed company that offers better seeds, solutions to control pests, diseases, soil quality, and weeds. It is headquartered in Delaware and has been working since 2019. This public company specializes in agriculture and works to increase the productivity and profitability of the farmers. It has been using innovation in agriculture for generations.
Its branches are present in Africa, North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean. It was said to test a new fungicide on animals and lead them to death. However, the company promised to take a step back and reduce the potential of harm.
Number Of Employees
It consists of more than 21,000 employees.
Revenue
Corteva Agriscience made revenue of $14,217 million as of 2021.
Most of its revenue gets generated from seeds, and the remaining is from crop protection.
- FMC
Food Machinery and Chemicals (FMC) is an American Agricultural Sciences company that helps farmers through crop protection solutions. Initially, it produced only insecticide, but now it is a producer of the fuel, fiber, food, and feed. Thus, it concentrates on the changing customer requirements and has served the customers since 1883.
FMC is headquartered in Philadelphia. It serves more than 50 countries including Thailand, China, the UK, Brazil, Indonesia, Vietnam. It specializes in Plant health, agriculture chemicals, and biologicals. This company consists of a set of ambitious executives that help it survive under challenging situations.
Number Of Employees
The number of employees in the FMC Corporation was around 6,400 in 2020.
Revenue
FMC made revenue of $4.64 billion in 2021.
FMC makes the most money by producing agricultural chemicals for plant health and crop protection. It also concentrates on their development and discovery.
- Nutrien
Nutrien Ag Solutions know the contribution of the farmers to the environment. Thus, it works to uphold their tradition. This Canadian fertilizer company was founded in 2018. It is headquartered in Saskatchewan and is a leader in precision agriculture, producing crops, phosphate, potash, and nitrogen. Nutrien leads in offering crop inputs and solutions across key areas in the world.
It operates in 13 countries with 2,000 retail locations and a distribution network in 5 countries. Nutrien offers the most suitable solutions and a wide range of products to farmers. This company was known as Crop Production Services before its establishment in 2019. Nutrien Ag solution resulted from a collaboration of the four companies Royster Clark, United Agri Products, Crop Production Services, and Western Farm Service.
Number Of Employees
It will consist of more than 23,000 employees in 2020.
Revenue
Its revenue in 2020 was $20.9 billion.
Nutrien earns significant earnings through nitrogen, phosphate, and potash products.
- Cargill
Cargill is headquartered in Minnesota, was founded in 1865. It focuses on offering food safety, sustainability, and better nutrition to customers. This privately held food production company specializes in risk management related to agriculture and making and processing food ingredients. It aims at reducing the proximity between the food producers and consumers.
Cargill works across 70 countries over the world. It purchases crops and animals from the farmers to present them in the world markets. The company got involved in a few controversies related to human rights, finance, and the environment. It is one of the major polluters in the world. It was also involved in frauds regarding fake reports and conning the property holders, partners, and government.
Number Of Employees
Cargill consisted of more than 155,000 employees in 2021.
Revenue
In 2021, its annual revenue was $134.4 billion.
Cargill gained much profit by purchasing, trading, and distributing oilseeds and grains.
- BASF
BASF is a public chemical company that is headquartered in Germany. It aims at creating a sustainable future and is the leading chemical producer across the globe. This company knows about its responsibility towards society and the environment. BASF did not get much recognition because it overlooked the value of making a personal brand.
BASF specializes in functional materials, chemicals, agricultural solutions, products, gas, and oil. It also helps its customers fulfill their responsibilities towards society by offering innovation and science. BASF has been serving its customers since its foundation in 1865 and serves over 150 countries. This company also goes along with digitalization, creativity, and entrepreneurship.
Number Of Employees
It contained over 110,000 employees in 2021.
Revenue
The revenue of BASF in 2021 was $69.95 billion.
It makes the most money through industrial and agricultural solutions, chemicals, nutrition, and more.
- John Deere
John Deere is an American company that offers heavy machinery for agriculture, turf care, rental sales, construction, golf, forestry, government, landscapes, military, and more. It is headquartered in Illinois and has been standing still since 1837. Machines offered by John Deere can get used with ease in the field and at the work sites.
It is a customer-centric company that aims at creating intelligent machines with sustainability and productivity for its customers. Its products include tractors, excavators, seed drills, backhoes, skidders, loaders, and more. John Deere creates solutions that will help the present and future generations.
Number Of Employees
John Deere consisted of more than 69,000 employees in 2020.
Revenue
Its revenue in 2021 was $11.35 billion.
- PhosAgro
PhosAgro leads in offering high-quality and safe phosphate fertilizers. It is a Russian chemical company that is headquartered in Moscow. Some subsidiaries of PhosAgro are Ammophos, Apatit, BMU, and Cherepovetsky Azot. PhosAgro ensures the safety of food made from the crops grown using its fertilizers.
Though it is a Russian company, North America might find its solutions sustainable. The product quality of PhosAgro gets ensured through the green label on its products. It is a customer-centric company that uses a vertically integrated business model.
Number Of Employees
It is said to employ more than 17,000 employees from 2019.
Revenue
The revenue of PhosAgro in 2021 was $4.93 billion.
- Bayer
Bayer is a chemical company that deals with some toughest challenges related to agriculture since its establishment in 1863. It is headquartered in Germany and is the leading pharmaceutical company around the world. It focuses on offering better solutions with a wide range of choices. It might not have an answer to every question, but its curiosity and collaboration help it move ahead.
It provides an adequate food supply and raw materials made from plants. Bayer collaborates with partners and researchers to shape the future of agriculture and serve 83 countries.
Number Of Employees
It is said to employ around 1lakh employees in 2020.
Revenue
In 2021, the revenue of Bayer was $48.96 billion.
It makes the most money through crop science, pharmaceuticals, seeds, and agriculture.
- Kaveri Seeds
Kaveri Seeds is an Indian agricultural company headquartered in Telangana that produces and distributes seeds. It uses technology and plant genetics to develop high-quality hybrid seeds and was founded in 1986. It contributed to the Green Revolution by providing quality seeds. Some crops are rice, cotton, maize, sorghum, bajra, and more. Kaveri Seeds introduced a private corn hybrid that later became a success. It was founded in 1976 and converted into a public limited company in 2006.
Number Of Employees
The total number of employees in 2021 was more than 1,900.
Revenue
Kaveri Seeds made a revenue of $143.05 million in 2021.
Challenges to Agricultural Companies
The following are the challenges to the agricultural companies:
- Family Farms
The agricultural companies might hire seasonal laborers for a short period. Thus, the laborers might prefer to have family farms, where they can either work with the family or hire laborers.
- Part-Time Job
Some laborers might take agriculture as a part-time job. So, the agricultural companies that do not hire part-time laborers might lose them.
- Natural Threats
The agricultural companies have different natural threats such as changing climate, workforce, competition, war, military invasion, politics, and more. The military invasion or politics might force the agricultural companies to change the farming processes. This change might cost them a lot. Similarly, changing climate might affect the crops.
- Technology
Since agricultural companies are going hand in hand with technology, they must spend more on machines and recruit more IT-related personnel. The workers working in the technical field must handle the costly machinery very well.
Conclusion
Agricultural companies are vital for shaping the future of agriculture. All the companies get set to increase their qualities and compete with others. Agriculture companies that fulfill the requirements related to the customers, farmers, and land seem to get better. They must also ensure that they do not harm the environment. Moreover, they come across various challenges over time.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What Are The Key Sectors Of the Agricultural Industry?
The agricultural industry has four key sectors: suppliers, producers, distributors, and retailers.
- What Are The Basic Necessities For Agriculture?
Knowledge related to climate, soil, seeds, crops, customer demand, agriculture science, right usage of materials, and time management are the necessities for agriculture.
