Document And Entity Information	6 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011	Jan. 31, 2012
Document And Entity Information
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2011
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2
Entity Registrant Name	ARCHER DANIELS MIDLAND CO
Entity Central Index Key	0000007084
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--06-30
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		661,632,896