Debt (Details Textual) - USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2018	Mar. 22, 2018	Apr. 13, 2017
Line of credit | Line of credit
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity	$ 950,000,000		$ 800,000,000
Total available for borrowings under lines of credit	338,300,000
Line of credit | Line of credit | TADE
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity	15,000,000
Line of credit | Line of credit | ELEMENT, LLC | Subsidiary
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity	70,000,000
Line of credit | Line of credit | The Andersons Railcar Leasing Company LLC
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity	$ 65,000,000
Line of credit | Revolving | The Andersons Railcar Leasing Company LLC | Subsidiary
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity		$ 65,000,000
Debt instrument, market-driven variable interest rate	3.88%
Borrowings under lines of credit	$ 40,000,000
Construction Loan Payable | ELEMENT, LLC | Subsidiary
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity	70,000,000
Borrowings under lines of credit	0
Construction Loan Payable | Term | ELEMENT, LLC | Subsidiary
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity	50,000,000
Construction Loan Payable | Revolving | ELEMENT, LLC | Subsidiary
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity	$ 20,000,000