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Segment Reporting
 12 Months Ended
Aug. 31, 2020
Segment Reporting [Abstract]  
Segment Reporting Segment Reporting
    We are an integrated agricultural enterprise, providing grain, foods and energy resources to businesses and consumers on a global basis. We provide a wide variety of products and services, from initial agricultural inputs such as fuels, farm supplies, crop nutrients and crop protection products, to agricultural outputs that include grains and oilseeds, grain and oilseed processing and food products, and the production and marketing of ethanol. We define our operating segments in accordance with ASC Topic 280, Segment Reporting, to reflect the manner in which our chief operating decision maker, our Chief Executive Officer, evaluates performance and allocates resources in managing the business. We have aggregated those operating segments into three reportable segments: Energy, Ag and Nitrogen Production.

    Our Energy segment produces and provides primarily for the wholesale distribution of petroleum products and transportation of those products. Our Ag segment purchases and further processes or resells grains and oilseeds originated by our country operations business, by our member cooperatives and by third parties; serves as a wholesaler and retailer of crop inputs; and produces and markets ethanol. Our Nitrogen Production segment consists solely of our equity method investment in CF Nitrogen, which entitles us, pursuant to a supply agreement that we entered with CF Nitrogen, to purchase up to a specified quantity of granular urea and UAN annually from CF Nitrogen. Corporate and Other represents our financing and hedging
businesses, which primarily consists of a U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission-regulated futures commission merchant for commodities hedging, financial services related to crop production, and insurance which was disposed of in May 2018. Our nonconsolidated investments in Ventura Foods and Ardent Mills are also included in our Corporate and Other category.

    Corporate administrative expenses and interest are allocated to each reportable segment, along with Corporate and Other, based on direct use for services, such as information technology and legal, and other factors or considerations relevant to the costs incurred.
    
    Many of our business activities are highly seasonal and operating results vary throughout the year. For example, in our Ag segment, our country operations business generally experiences higher volumes and income during the spring planting season and during the fall harvest season and our agronomy business generally experiences higher volumes and income during the spring planting season. Our global grain marketing operations are also subject to fluctuations in volume and earnings based on producer harvests, world grain prices and demand. Our Energy segment generally experiences higher volumes and profitability in certain operating areas, such as refined products, in the summer and early fall when gasoline and diesel fuel usage is highest and is subject to global supply and demand forces. Other energy products, such as propane, may experience higher volumes and profitability during the winter heating and crop-drying seasons.

    Our revenues, assets and cash flows can be significantly affected by global market prices for commodities such as petroleum products, natural gas, grains, oilseeds, crop nutrients and flour. Changes in market prices for commodities that we purchase without a corresponding change in the selling prices of those products can affect revenues and operating earnings. Commodity prices are affected by a wide range of factors beyond our control, including the weather, crop damage due to plant disease or insects, drought, availability and adequacy of supply, availability of a reliable rail and river transportation network, outbreaks of disease, government regulations and policies, global trade disputes, and general political and economic conditions.

    While our revenues and operating results are derived primarily from businesses and operations that are wholly-owned or subsidiaries and limited liability companies in which we have a controlling interest, a portion of our business operations are conducted through companies in which we hold ownership interests of 50% or less or do not control the operations. We account for these investments primarily using the equity method of accounting, wherein we record our proportionate share of income or loss reported by the entity as equity income from investments, without consolidating the revenues and expenses of the entity in our Consolidated Statements of Operations. In our Nitrogen Production segment, this consists of our approximate 10% membership interest (based on product tons) in CF Nitrogen. In Corporate and Other, this principally includes our 50% ownership in Ventura Foods and our 12% ownership in Ardent Mills. See Note 6, Investments, for more information related to CF Nitrogen, Ventura Foods and Ardent Mills.

    Reconciling amounts represent the elimination of revenues between segments. Such transactions are executed at market prices to more accurately evaluate the profitability of the individual business segments.
    Segment information for the years ended August 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018 is presented in the tables below. The fiscal 2020 and fiscal 2019 results for our Ag segment include results associated with our acquisition of the remaining 75% ownership interest in WCD that we did not previously own on March 1, 2019, which were not included in our fiscal 2018 results. Refer to further details related to our acquisition of the remaining 75% ownership interest in WCD that we did not previously own within Note 20, Acquisitions.
EnergyAgNitrogen ProductionCorporate
and Other		Reconciling
Amounts		Total
 (Dollars in thousands)
For the year ended August 31, 2020     
Revenues, including intersegment revenues$5,820,154 $22,940,712 $— $55,567 $(410,068)$28,406,365 
Intersegment revenues(389,020)(14,613)— (6,435)410,068 — 
Revenues, net of intersegment revenues $5,431,134 $22,926,099 $— $49,132 $— $28,406,365 
Operating earnings (loss)219,861 82,543 (33,497)8,358 — 277,265 
Gain on disposal of business— (211)— (1,239)— (1,450)
Interest expense308 71,682 45,255 11,806 (12,074)116,977 
Other income(3,005)(35,349)(2,635)(9,510)12,074 (38,425)
Equity income from investments(2,759)(7,303)(127,954)(48,699)— (186,715)
Income before income taxes$225,317 $53,724 $51,837 $56,000 $— $386,878 
Capital expenditures175,169 158,903 — 84,287 — 418,359 
Depreciation and amortization245,983 196,510 — 34,882 — 477,375 
Total assets as of August 31, 20204,447,526 6,325,857 2,681,616 2,538,948 — 15,993,947 

EnergyAgNitrogen ProductionCorporate
and Other		Reconciling
Amounts		Total
(Dollars in thousands)
For the year ended August 31, 2019
Revenues, including intersegment revenues$7,581,450 $24,736,425 $— $68,710 $(486,132)$31,900,453 
Intersegment revenues(462,374)(16,353)— (7,405)486,132 — 
Revenues, net of intersegment revenues$7,119,076 $24,720,072 $— $61,305 $— $31,900,453 
Operating earnings (loss)615,662 65,181 (35,046)13,805 — 659,602 
Gain on disposal of business— (3,886)— — — (3,886)
Interest expense5,719 101,386 55,226 11,684 (6,950)167,065 
Other income(5,548)(70,888)(2,769)(10,168)6,950 (82,423)
Equity income from investments(2,697)(4,447)(160,373)(69,238)— (236,755)
Income before income taxes$618,188 $43,016 $72,870 $81,527 $— $815,601 
Capital expenditures268,877 110,197 — 64,142 — 443,216 
Depreciation and amortization233,624 208,294 — 31,293 — 473,211 
Total assets as of August 31, 20194,401,793 6,415,580 2,730,306 2,899,815 — 16,447,494 
EnergyAgNitrogen ProductionCorporate
and Other		Reconciling
Amounts		Total
(Dollars in thousands)
For the year ended August 31, 2018
Revenues, including intersegment revenues$8,068,717 $25,052,395 $— $64,516 $(502,281)$32,683,347 
Intersegment revenues(479,598)(14,914)— (7,769)502,281 — 
Revenues, net of intersegment revenues$7,589,119 $25,037,481 $— $56,747 $— $32,683,347 
Operating earnings (loss)388,112 93,728 (20,619)(8,857)— 452,364 
Gain on disposal of business(65,862)(7,707)— (58,247)— (131,816)
Interest expense14,627 94,256 50,499 (7,712)(2,468)149,202 
Other income(9,698)(68,471)(3,061)(3,975)2,468 (82,737)
Equity (income) loss from investments(3,063)1,392 (106,895)(44,949)— (153,515)
Income before income taxes$452,108 $74,258 $38,838 $106,026 $— $671,230 
Capital expenditures248,207 77,962 — 29,243 — 355,412 
Depreciation and amortization230,230 218,716 — 29,104 — 478,050 

    We have international sales, which are predominantly in our Ag segment. The following table presents our sales, based on the geographic location of the subsidiary making the sale, for the years ended August 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018:
202020192018
 (Dollars in thousands)
North America (a)
$25,360,077 $27,896,269 $29,475,724 
South America1,559,380 2,027,020 1,569,330 
Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA)774,068 895,472 536,501 
Asia Pacific (APAC)712,840 1,081,692 1,101,792 
Total$28,406,365 $31,900,453 $32,683,347 
(a) Revenues in North America are substantially all attributed to revenues from the United States.

    Long-lived assets include our property, plant and equipment, finance lease assets and capitalized major maintenance costs. The following table presents long-lived assets by geographical region based on physical location:
20202019
 (Dollars in thousands)
United States$5,121,315 $5,295,752 
International65,134 79,846 
Total$5,186,449 $5,375,598