As farmers store and sell more crops themselves, here's how Cargill stays in the middle of the grain trade

Cargill Inc. started out as a grain trading company by building thousands of elevators in rural areas that farmers could reach in a day by horse and wagon.

Today, being close to farmers isn’t as important as it once was. Farmers are just as informed about price and demand trends as Cargill is. Many of them now run huge operations that are spread out over many miles. And most farmers also store their own grain, timing its sale to maximize revenue and profit.