Inventories (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2018

Inventory, Net [Abstract]

Classes of inventories

Major classes of inventories are as follows:

(in thousands)	March 31, 2018		December 31, 2017		March 31, 2017
Grain	$	541,272	$	505,217	$	443,870
Ethanol and co-products	14,320		11,003		15,549
Plant nutrients and cob products	170,748		126,962		165,584
Retail merchandise	—		—		11,082
Railcar repair parts	5,289		5,521		5,209
	$	731,629	$	648,703	$	641,294