Dive Brief:

• Cargill said its second-quarter profit skyrocketed 36% to $556 million, even as revenue dropped 7% from a year earlier to $32.9 billion.
• The agribusiness giant credited the profit jump to last year's record-size harvest. The rise in grain supplies pushed down the cost of feed, thereby lifting profit margins for Cargill's meat products.
• Cargill is the country's largest exporter of grains. Last year's corn and soybean harvest led to renewed interest from overseas buyers. Cargill said its ocean-shipping unit also saw earning rise.

Dive Insight:

Cargill is the country's largest privately held company. And since it's private, it doesn't have to provide detailed information on its financials. That always leaves us a little disappointed. This years is no different. Here's why:

Last year's fiscal second quarter was almost the opposite of this year's Q2. The crop was poor, feed prices rose, and beef producers reduced the size of their herd until cattle supplies hit a 60-year low. Cargill, like many companies, suffered. 

Back then we wanted to know what Cargill's hedging strategy looked like and whether or not it had worked, i.e., could things have been worse. This year we'd love to know what changes Cargill made to that strategy and whether or not they worked. But with Cargill, you just never know.