Inventories (Details) $ in Thousands, bu in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2020 USD ($) bu	Mar. 31, 2019 USD ($) bu	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($) bu
Inventory [Line Items]
Grain and other agricultural products	$ 750,281	$ 812,361	$ 907,482
Frac sand and propane	5,723	8,172	15,438
Ethanol and co-products	87,706	16,302	95,432
Plant nutrients and cob products	178,028	183,886	146,164
Railcar repair parts	6,338	5,744	6,020
Total inventories	$ 1,028,076	$ 1,026,465	$ 1,170,536
Bushels of grain held in storage for others and excluded from inventory calculations | bu	3.9	1.9	6.4
Inventory write down	$ 10,571	$ 0
COVID-19 Pandemic
Inventory [Line Items]
Inventory write down	$ 10,600