ITEM 1.     BUSINESS

THE COMPANY

CHS Inc. (referred to herein as “CHS,” “we” or “us”) is one of the nation’s leading integrated agricultural companies, providing grain, foods and energy resources to businesses and consumers on a global basis. As a cooperative, we are owned by farmers and ranchers and their member cooperatives (referred to herein as “members”) across the United States. We also have preferred shareholders that own shares of our five series of preferred stock, which are each listed and traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market. We buy commodities from and provide products and services to patrons (including our members and other non-member customers), both domestically and internationally. 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, renewable fuels and food products. A portion of our operations are conducted through equity investments and joint ventures whose operating results are not fully consolidated with our results; rather, a proportionate share of the income or loss from those equity investments and joint ventures is included as a component in our net income under the equity method of accounting. For the year ended August 31, 2016, our total revenues were $30.3 billion and net income attributable to CHS Inc. was $424.2 million .

We have aligned our segments based on an assessment of how our businesses operate and the products and services they sell. Our Energy segment derives its revenues through refining, wholesaling and retailing of petroleum products. Our Ag segment derives its revenues through the origination and marketing of grain, including: service activities conducted at export terminals; through wholesale sales of crop nutrients; from sales of soybean meal, soybean refined oil and soyflour products; through the production and marketing of renewable fuels; and through retail sales of petroleum and agronomy products, processed sunflowers, feed and farm supplies. Our Ag segment also records equity income from our grain export joint venture and other investments. Our Nitrogen Production segment consists solely of, and came into existence upon, our equity method investment in CF Industries Nitrogen, LLC (“CF Nitrogen”), which was completed in February 2016. The addition of our Nitrogen Production segment did not have any impact on historically reported segment results and balances. Our Foods segment consists solely of our equity method investment in Ventura Foods, LLC (“Ventura Foods”). In prior years, our equity method investment in Ventura Foods was reported as a component of Corporate and Other and, accordingly, historically reported segment results and balances have been revised to reflect the addition of our Foods segment. We continue to include our other business operations in Corporate and Other because of the nature of their products and services, as well as the relative revenues of those businesses. These businesses primarily include our financing, insurance, hedging and other service activities related to crop production. In addition, our wheat milling operations are included in Corporate and Other, as this business is conducted through a non-consolidated joint venture.

Our earnings from cooperative business are allocated to members (and to a limited extent, to non-members with which we have agreed to do business on a patronage basis) based on the volume of business they do with us. We allocate these earnings to our patrons in the form of patronage refunds (which are also called patronage dividends) in cash and patrons’ equities (in the form of capital equity certificates), which may be redeemed over time solely at the discretion of our Board of Directors. Earnings derived from non-members, which are not treated as patronage, are taxed at federal and state statutory corporate rates and are retained by us as unallocated capital reserve. We also receive patronage refunds from the cooperatives in which we are a member, if those cooperatives have earnings to distribute and if we qualify for patronage refunds from them.

Our origins date back to the early 1930s with the founding of our predecessor companies, Cenex, Inc. and Harvest States Cooperatives. CHS Inc. emerged as the result of the merger of those two entities in 1998, and is headquartered in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota.

Our segment and international sales information in Note 11, Segment Reporting, of notes to consolidated financial statements that are included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are incorporated by reference into the following segment descriptions.

Our internet address is www.chsinc.com. The information contained on our website is not part of, and is not incorporated in, this Annual Report on Form 10-K or any other report we file with or furnish to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

ENERGY

Overview

We are the nation’s largest cooperative energy company based on revenues and identifiable assets, with operations that include: petroleum refining and pipelines; the supply, marketing and distribution of refined fuels (gasoline, diesel fuel and other energy products); the blending, sale and distribution of lubricants; and the wholesale supply of propane and other natural gas liquids. Our Energy segment processes crude oil into refined petroleum products at our refineries in Laurel, Montana and McPherson, Kansas and sells those products under the Cenex® brand to member cooperatives and other independent retailers through a network of nearly 1,500 sites, the majority of which are convenience stores marketing Cenex® branded fuels. For fiscal 2016, our Energy revenues, after elimination of inter-segment revenues, were $ 5.4 billion and were primarily from gasoline and diesel fuel.

Operations

Laurel Refinery.   Our Laurel, Montana refinery processes medium and high sulfur crude oil into refined petroleum products that primarily include gasoline, diesel fuel, petroleum coke and asphalt. Our Laurel, Montana refinery sources approximately 90% of its crude oil supply from Canada, with the balance obtained from domestic sources, and we have access to Canadian and northwest Montana crude oil through our wholly-owned Front Range Pipeline, LLC and other common carrier pipelines. Our Laurel, Montana refinery also has access to Wyoming crude oil via common carrier pipelines from the south.

Our Laurel, Montana facility processes approximately 55,000 barrels of crude oil per day to produce refined products that consist of approximately 42% gasoline, 40% diesel fuel and other distillates, 10% asphalt and 6% petroleum coke and other products. Refined fuels produced at our Laurel, Montana refinery are available: via rail cars and via the Yellowstone Pipeline to western Montana terminals and to Spokane, Washington; south via common carrier pipelines to Wyoming terminals and Denver, Colorado; and east via our wholly-owned Cenex Pipeline, LLC to Glendive, Montana and Minot and Fargo, North Dakota.

McPherson Refinery.   Our McPherson, Kansas refinery processes approximately 75% low and medium sulfur crude oil and approximately 25% heavy sulfur crude oil into gasoline, diesel fuel and other distillates, propane and other products. The refinery sources its crude oil through its own pipelines as well as common carrier pipelines. The low and medium sulfur crude oil is sourced from Kansas, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Texas, and the heavy sulfur crude oil is sourced from Canada.

Our McPherson, Kansas refinery processes approximately 90,000 barrels of crude oil per day to produce refined products that consist of approximately 57% gasoline, 37% diesel fuel and other distillates and 2% propane and other products. Approximately 21% of the refined fuels are either loaded into trucks at the McPherson, Kansas refinery or shipped via its proprietary products pipeline to our terminal in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The remaining refined fuel products are shipped to other markets via common carrier pipelines.

Our McPherson, Kansas refinery was previously owned and operated by National Cooperative Refinery Association ("NCRA"). On September 1, 2015, we became the sole owner of the McPherson, Kansas refinery upon the final closing under our November 2011 agreement to purchase all of the noncontrolling interests in NCRA, which is now known as CHS McPherson Refinery Inc. ("CHS McPherson"). See Note 17, Acquisitions , of the notes to consolidated financial statements that are included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information.

Other Energy Operations .  We own six propane terminals, four asphalt terminals, seven refined product terminals and three lubricants blending and packaging facilities. We also own and lease a fleet of liquid and pressure trailers and tractors, which are used to transport refined fuels, propane, anhydrous ammonia and other products.

Products and Services

Our Energy segment produces and sells (primarily wholesale) gasoline, diesel fuel, propane, asphalt, lubricants and other related products and also provides transportation services. In addition to selling the products refined at our Laurel, Montana, and McPherson, Kansas refineries, we purchase refined petroleum products from third parties. For fiscal 2016, we obtained approximately 66% of the refined petroleum products we sold from our Laurel, Montana and McPherson, Kansas refineries, and approximately 34% from third parties.

Sales and Marketing; Customers

We market approximately 80% of our refined fuel products to members, with the balance sold to non-members. Sales are made wholesale to member cooperatives and through a network of independent retailers that operate convenience stores under the Cenex® trade name. We sold approximately 1.5 billion gallons of gasoline and approximately 1.8 billion gallons of diesel fuel in fiscal 2016. We also blend, package and wholesale auto and farm machinery lubricants to both members and non-members. We are one of the nation’s largest propane wholesalers based on revenues. Most of the propane sold in rural areas is for heating and agricultural usage. Annual sales volumes of propane vary greatly depending on weather patterns and crop conditions.

Industry; Competition

The petroleum business is highly cyclical. Demand for crude oil and energy products is driven by the condition of local and worldwide economies, local and regional weather patterns and taxation relative to other energy sources, which can significantly affect the price of refined fuel products. 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 domestic supply and demand forces. Other energy products, such as propane, may experience higher volumes and profitability during the winter heating and crop drying seasons. More fuel-efficient equipment, reduced crop tillage, depressed prices for crops, weather conditions and government programs which encourage idle acres may all reduce demand for our energy products.

Regulation.   Governmental regulations and policies, particularly in the areas of taxation, energy and the environment, have a significant impact on our Energy segment. Our Energy segment’s operations are subject to laws and related regulations and rules designed to protect the environment that are administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (the “EPA”), the Department of Transportation (the “DOT”) and similar government agencies. These laws, regulations and rules govern: the discharge of materials into the environment, air and water; reporting storage of hazardous wastes and other hazardous materials; the transportation, handling and disposal of wastes and other materials; the labeling of pesticides and similar substances; and investigation and remediation of releases of hazardous materials. Failure to comply with these laws, regulations and rules could subject us to administrative penalties, injunctive relief, civil remedies and possible recalls of products. Our hedging transactions and activities are subject to the rules and regulations of the exchanges we use, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (the “CME”), as well as the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”).

Competition.   The petroleum refining and wholesale fuels business is very competitive. Among our competitors are some of the world’s largest integrated petroleum companies, which have their own crude oil supplies, distribution and marketing systems. We also compete with smaller domestic refiners and marketers in the midwestern and northwestern United States, with foreign refiners who import products into the United States and with producers and marketers in other industries supplying other forms of energy and fuels to consumers. Given the commodity nature of the end products, profitability in the industry depends largely on margins, as well as operating efficiency, product mix and costs of product distribution and transportation. The retail gasoline market is highly competitive, with competitors that are much larger than us and that have greater brand recognition and distribution outlets throughout the country and the world than we do. Our owned and non-owned retail outlets are located primarily in the northwestern, midwestern and southern United States.

We market refined fuel products in five principal geographic areas. The first area includes the Midwest and northern plains. Competition at the wholesale level in this area includes major oil companies as well as independent refiners and wholesale brokers/suppliers. This area has a robust spot market and is influenced by the large refinery center along the gulf coast.

To the east of the Midwest and northern plains is another unique marketing area. This area centers near Chicago, Illinois and includes eastern Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana. In this area, we principally compete with the major oil companies as well as independent refineries and wholesale brokers/suppliers.

Another market area is located south of Chicago, Illinois. Most of this area includes Arkansas, Missouri and the northern part of Texas. Competition in this area includes the major oil companies and independent refiners. This area is principally supplied from the Gulf Coast refinery center and is also driven by a strong spot market that reacts quickly to changes in the international and national supply balance.

Another geographic area includes Montana, western North Dakota, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, Colorado and western South Dakota. Competition at the wholesale level in this area includes the major oil companies and independent refineries.

The last area includes much of Washington and Oregon. We compete with the major oil companies in this area. This area is known for volatile prices and an active spot market.

AG

Overview

Our Ag segment includes our grain marketing, country operations, crop nutrients, processing and food ingredients and renewable fuels businesses. These businesses work together to facilitate the production, purchase, sale and eventual use of grain and other agricultural products within the United States, as well as internationally. In fiscal 2016, revenues in our Ag segment were $24.8 billion after elimination of inter-segment revenues, consisting principally of grain sales.

Operations

Grain Marketing. We are the nation’s largest cooperative marketer of grain and oilseed based on grain storage capacity and grain sales. Our grain marketing operations purchase grain directly from agricultural producers and elevator operators primarily in the midwestern and western United States and indirectly through our country operations business. The purchased grain is typically contracted for sale for future delivery at a specified location, and we are responsible for handling the grain and arranging for its transportation to that location. We own and operate export terminals, river terminals and elevators throughout the United States to handle and transport grain and grain products. We also maintain locations in Europe, the Middle East, the Pacific Rim and South America for the marketing, merchandising and sourcing of grains. We primarily conduct our grain marketing operations directly, but do conduct some of our operations through TEMCO, LLC, a 50% joint venture with Cargill, Incorporated ("Cargill").

Country Operations. Our country operations business operates 487 agri-operations locations through 61 business units dispersed throughout the midwestern and western United States and Canada. Most of these locations purchase grain from farmers and sell agronomy, energy, feed and seed products to those same producers and others, although not all locations provide every product and service. We also manufacture animal feed through eight owned plants and four limited liability companies and process sunflowers for human food and other uses.

Crop Nutrients. We believe our North American wholesale crop nutrients business is one of the largest wholesale fertilizer businesses in the United States based on tons sold. Crop nutrient products are delivered directly to our customers and our country operations business from the manufacturer or through our twenty inland and river warehouse terminals and other non-owned storage facilities located throughout the United States. To supplement what is purchased domestically, our Galveston, Texas deep water port and terminal receives fertilizer by vessel from origins such as Asia and the Caribbean basin where significant volumes of urea are produced. The fertilizer is then shipped by rail to destinations within crop producing regions of the United States .

Processing and Food Ingredients. Our processing and food ingredients operations are conducted at facilities that can crush approximately 127 million bushels of oilseeds on an annual basis, producing approximately 2.8 million short tons of meal/flour and 1.6 billion pounds of edible oil annually. We also have operations where we further process soyflour for use in the food/snack industry. We purchase our oilseeds from members, other CHS businesses and third parties that have tightly integrated connections with our grain marketing operations and country operations business. 

Renewable fuels. Our renewable fuels business produces 260 million gallons of fuel grade ethanol and 680 thousand tons of dried distillers grains with solubles (“DDGS”) annually. We also market over 700 million gallons of ethanol and 3.5 million tons of DDGS annually under marketing agreements for other production plants.

Products and Services

Our Ag segment provides local cooperatives and farmers with the inputs and services they need to produce grain and raise livestock. These include seed, crop nutrients, crop protection products, animal feed, animal health products, refined fuels and propane. We also buy and merchandise grain in both domestic and international markets. With a portion of the grain we purchase we produce renewable fuels, including ethanol and DDGS. We also produce refined oils, meal and soyflour at our processing facilities.

Sales and Marketing; Customers

Our Ag segment provides products and services to a wide range of customers, primarily in the United States. These customers include member and non-member producers, local cooperatives, elevators, grain dealers, grain processors and crop nutrient retailers. We sell our edible oils and soyflour to food companies. The meal we produce is sold to integrated livestock producers and feed mills. The ethanol and DDGS we produce are sold throughout the United States and in various international locations.

Industry; Competition

Many of the business activities in our Ag segment are highly seasonal and, consequently, the operating results for our Ag segment will typically vary throughout the year. For example, our country operations and crop nutrients businesses generally experience higher volumes and income during the spring planting season and in the fall, which corresponds to harvest. In addition, our Ag segment operations may be adversely affected by relative levels of supply and demand, both domestic and international, commodity price levels and transportation costs and conditions. Supply is affected by weather conditions, disease, insect damage, acreage planted and government regulations and policies. Demand may be affected by foreign governments and their programs, relationships of foreign countries with the United States, the affluence of foreign countries, acts of war, currency exchange fluctuations and substitution of commodities. Demand may also be affected by changes in eating habits, population growth, the level of per capita consumption of some products and the level of renewable fuels production.

Regulation. Our Ag operations are subject to laws and related regulations and rules designed to protect the environment that are administered by the EPA, the DOT and similar government agencies. These laws, regulations and rules govern: the discharge of materials into the environment, air and water; reporting storage of hazardous wastes and other hazardous materials; the transportation, handling and disposal of wastes and other materials; the labeling of pesticides and similar substances; and the investigation and remediation of releases of hazardous materials. In addition, environmental laws impose a liability on owners and operators for investigation and remediation of contaminated property, and a party who sends hazardous materials to those contaminated properties for treatment, storage, disposal or recycling. In some instances, that liability exists regardless of fault. Our grain marketing operations, country operations business, processing and food ingredient operations and renewable fuel operations are also subject to laws and related regulations and rules administered by the United States Department of Agriculture (the ”USDA”), the United States Food and Drug Administration (the “FDA”) and other federal, state, local and foreign governmental agencies that govern the processing, packaging, storage, distribution, advertising, labeling, quality and safety of feed and grain products. Failure to comply with these laws, regulations and rules could subject us to administrative penalties, injunctive relief, civil remedies and possible recalls of products. The hedging transactions and activities of our grain marketing, country operations, processing and food ingredient and renewable fuels businesses are subject to the rules and regulations of the exchanges we use, including the CME, as well as the CFTC.

Competition. In our Ag segment, we have significant competition in the businesses in which we operate based principally on price, services, quality, patronage and alternative products. Our businesses are dependent upon relationships with local cooperatives and private retailers, proximity to the customers and producers and competitive pricing. We compete with other large distributors of agricultural products, as well as other regional or local distributors, local cooperatives, retailers and manufacturers.

NITROGEN PRODUCTION

Overview

    

Our Nitrogen Production segment consists solely of our equity investment in CF Nitrogen. CF Nitrogen was formed in 2016, and is owned 11.4% by us and 88.6% by CF Industries Sales, LLC, a subsidiary of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. In February 2016, in connection with our equity investment, we entered into an 80-year supply agreement with CF Nitrogen that entitles us to purchase up to 1.1 million tons of granular urea and 580,000 tons of urea ammonium nitrate (“UAN”) annually for ratable delivery. We account for our CF Nitrogen investment using the hypothetical liquidation at book value method, and on August 31, 2016 , our investment was $ 2.8 billion .

Our investment in CF Nitrogen positions us and our members for long-term dependable fertilizer supply, supply chain efficiency and production economics. In addition, the ability to source product from CF Nitrogen production facilities under our supply agreement benefits our members and customers through strategically positioned access to essential fertilizer products.

Operations

CF Nitrogen has four production facilities located in: Donaldsonville, Louisiana; Port Neal, Iowa; Yazoo City, Mississippi; and Woodward, Oklahoma. Natural gas is the principal raw material and primary fuel source used in the ammonia production process. CF Nitrogen has access to competitively-priced natural gas through a reliable network of pipelines that are connected to major natural gas trading hubs near its production facilities.

Products and Services

CF Nitrogen produces nitrogen-based products including, methanol, UAN and urea and related products.

Sales and Marketing; Customers

CF Nitrogen has three customers including us and two consolidated subsidiaries of CF Industries Holdings, Inc.

Industry; Competition

Regulatio n. CF Nitrogen is subject to laws and related regulations and rules designed to protect the environment that are administered by the EPA and similar government agencies. These laws, regulations and rules govern: the discharge of materials into the environment, air and water; reporting storage of hazardous wastes and other hazardous materials; the handling and disposal of wastes and other materials; and the investigation and remediation of releases of hazardous materials. In addition, environmental laws impose a liability on owners and operators for investigation and remediation of contaminated property, and a party who sends hazardous materials to those contaminated properties for treatment, storage, disposal or recycling. In some instances, that liability exists regardless of fault.

Competition . CF Nitrogen competes primarily on delivered price and, to a lesser extent, on customer service and product quality. CF Nitrogen competes domestically with a variety of large companies in the fertilizer industry. There is also significant competition from products sourced from other regions of the world.

FOODS

Overview

    

Our Foods segment consists solely of our equity method investment in Ventura Foods, which produces vegetable oil-based products such as packaged frying oils, margarine, mayonnaise, salad dressings and other food products. Ventura Foods was formed in 1996, and is owned 50% by us and 50% by Wilsey Foods, Inc., a majority-owned subsidiary of MBK USA Holdings, Inc. We account for our Ventura Foods investment under the equity method of accounting, and on August 31, 2016 , our investment was $ 369.5 million .

Operations

Ventura Foods currently has 16 manufacturing and distribution locations across the United States and Canada. Ventura Foods sources its raw materials, which consist primarily of soybean oil, canola oil, palm/coconut oil, peanut oil and other ingredients and supplies, from various national and overseas suppliers, including our oilseed processing operations.

Products and Services

Ventura Foods manufactures, packages and distributes frying oils, margarine, mayonnaise, salad dressings, sauces and other food products, many of which utilize soybean oil as a primary ingredient. Approximately 35% of Ventura Foods’ sales comes from products for which Ventura Foods owns the brand, and the remainder comes from non-branded items and products it produces for third parties. A variety of Ventura Foods’ product formulations and processes are proprietary to Ventura Foods or its customers. Ventura Foods is one of the largest manufacturers of margarine, sauces and dressings for the foodservice sector in the United States.

Sales and Marketing; Customers

Ventura Foods sells the products it manufactures to foodservice distribution companies, large national foodservice operators and food manufacturers. Ventura Foods also manufactures a number of products for third parties as a contract manufacturer. Ventura Foods sales are approximately 60% in foodservice and the remainder is split between retail and industrial customers who use edible oils as ingredients in products they manufacture for resale.

Industry; Competition

Regulation . Ventura Foods is subject to laws and related regulations and rules designed to protect the environment that are administered by the EPA, the DOT and similar government agencies. These laws, regulations and rules govern: the discharge of materials into the environment, air and water; reporting storage of hazardous wastes and other hazardous materials; the transportation, handling and disposal of wastes and other materials; and the investigation and remediation of releases of hazardous materials. In addition, environmental laws impose a liability on owners and operators for investigation and remediation of contaminated property, and a party who sends hazardous materials to those contaminated properties for treatment, storage, disposal or recycling. In some instances, that liability exists regardless of fault. Ventura Foods is also subject to laws and related regulations and rules administered by the USDA, the FDA and other federal, state, local and foreign governmental agencies that govern the processing, packaging, storage, distribution, advertising, labeling, quality and safety of food products. Failure to comply with these laws, regulations and rules could subject Ventura Foods to administrative penalties, injunctive relief, civil remedies and possible recalls of products.

Competition . Ventura Foods competes with a variety of companies in the food manufacturing industry. Competitors in the frying oils segment of the business include multi-national oilseed processing companies as well as smaller oil packaging firms. Ventura Foods also competes with large consumer packaged goods companies and smaller regional manufacturers that produce dressings, sauces, margarine and mayonnaise for the foodservice, retail and industrial sectors. Competitive dynamics vary by product category. In commodity categories such as frying oils, price and service are significant factors in customer decisions. For value added products, such as dressings and sauces, service and culinary capabilities play a larger role in securing new business and maintaining customer relationships.   

 

CORPORATE AND OTHER

Business Solutions

CHS Capital .  Our wholly-owned finance company subsidiary, CHS Capital, LLC (“CHS Capital”), provides cooperative associations with a variety of loans that meet commercial agriculture needs, including operating, term, revolving and other short and long-term options. It also provides an array of loans to producers, including crop input, crop operating, feed, livestock and margin call. In addition, CHS Capital provides open account financing to our cooperative association members. These arrangements involve the discretionary extension of credit in the form of a clearing account for settlement of grain purchases and as a cash management tool.

CHS Hedging .  Our wholly-owned commodity brokerage subsidiary, CHS Hedging, LLC (“CHS Hedging”), is a registered Futures Commission Merchant and a clearing member of both the Chicago Board of Trade and the Minneapolis Grain Exchange. CHS Hedging provides full-service commodity risk management services primarily to agricultural producers and commercial agribusinesses in the areas of agriculture and energy.

CHS Insurance .  Our wholly-owned subsidiary, CHS Insurance Services, LLC (“CHS Insurance”), is a full-service independent agency that offers property and casualty insurance, surety bonds, safety resources, employment services and group benefits. The customer base consists primarily of participants in the agribusiness, construction, energy and processing industries. Impact Risk Funding, Inc. PCC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CHS Insurance, is a protected cell captive insurance entity used to provide alternative risk financing options for customers.

Wheat Milling

In January 2002, we formed a joint venture with Cargill named Horizon Milling, LLC (“Horizon Milling”), in which we held an ownership interest of 24%, with Cargill owning the remaining 76%. Horizon Milling was the largest U.S. wheat miller based on output volume, and we owned five mills that we leased to Horizon Milling. During fiscal 2007, we expanded this operation with the formation of Horizon Milling G.P. (24% CHS ownership with Cargill owning the remaining 76%), a

joint venture that acquired a Canadian grain-based foodservice and industrial business, which included two flour milling operations and two dry baking mixing facilities in Canada.

In the third quarter of fiscal 2014, we formed Ardent Mills, LLC (“Ardent Mills”), the largest flour miller in the United States, as a joint venture with Cargill and ConAgra Foods, Inc., which combined the North American flour milling operations of the three parent companies, including assets from our existing joint venture milling operations Horizon Milling and Horizon Milling, ULC and CHS-owned mills, with CHS holding a 12% interest in Ardent Mills. Prior to closing, we contributed $32.8 million to Horizon Milling to pay off existing debt as a pre-condition to close. Upon closing, Ardent Mills was financed with funds from third-party borrowings, which did not require credit support from the owners. We received $121.2 million of cash proceeds distributed to us in proportion to our ownership interest, adjusted for deviations in specified working capital target amounts, and recognized a gain of $109.2 million, associated with this transaction. In connection with the closing, the parties also entered into various ancillary and non-compete agreements including, among other things, an agreement for us to supply Ardent Mills with certain wheat and durum products. We account for our investment in Ardent Mills as an equity method investment due to our ability to exercise significant influence through our ability to appoint a member of the Board of Shareholders and Board of Managers. On August 31, 2016 our investment in Ardent Mills was $ 195.0 million .

EMPLOYEES

On August 31, 2016, we had 12,157 full, part-time, temporary and seasonal employees. Of that total, 3,032 were employed in our Energy segment, 8,428 were employed in our Ag segment and 697 were employed in Corporate and Other. In addition to those individuals directly employed by us, many individuals work for joint ventures in which we have a 50% or less ownership interest, including employees of CF Nitrogen and Ventura Foods in our Nitrogen Production and Foods segments, respectively, and are not included in these totals.

Labor Relations

As of August 31, 2016, we had 14 collective bargaining agreements with unions covering approximately 8% of our employees in the United States and Canada. These collective bargaining agreements expire on various dates from April 30, 2017 to June 30, 2021, except that one collective bargaining agreement covering 20 pipeline employees renews automatically every September 1, unless 60 days’ notice of termination is given.

CHS AUTHORIZED CAPITAL

Introduction

We are an agricultural membership cooperative organized under Minnesota cooperative law to do business with member and non-member patrons.

Distribution of Net Income; Patronage Dividends

We are required by our organizational documents to annually distribute net earnings derived from patronage business with members to members on the basis of patronage, except that our Board of Directors may elect to retain and add to our unallocated capital reserve an amount not to exceed 10% of the distributable net income from patronage business. We may also distribute net income derived from business with a non-member if we have agreed to conduct business with the non-member on a patronage basis. Net income from non-patronage business may be distributed to members or added to the unallocated capital reserve, in whatever proportions our Board of Directors deems appropriate.

The cash portion of the patronage distribution is determined annually by our Board of Directors, with the balance issued in the form of qualified and non-qualified capital equity certificates. Consenting patrons have agreed to take both the cash and qualified capital equity certificate portion allocated to them from our previous fiscal year’s income into their taxable income and, as a result, we are allowed a deduction from our taxable income for both the cash distribution and the allocated qualified capital equity certificates, as long as the cash distribution is at least 20% of the total patronage distribution. For the years ended August 31, 2015 and August 31, 2014 , 10% of earnings from patronage business was added to our capital reserves and the remaining 90% was primarily distributed during the second fiscal quarters of the years ended August 31, 2016 and August 31, 2015 , totaling $627.2 million and $821.5 million , respectively. The cash portion of the qualified distributions was deemed by the Board of Directors to be 40% for fiscal 2015 and 2014 . Cash related to these distributions was $251.7 million and $271.2 million and was paid during the years ended August 31, 2016 and August 31, 2015 , respectively. During the year ended August 31, 2014 , we distributed patronage refunds of $841.1 million , of which the cash portion was $286.8 million .

    

Patrons’ Equities

Patrons’ equities are in the form of book entries and represent a right to receive cash or other property when we redeem them. Patrons’ equities form part of our capital, do not bear interest, and are not subject to redemption upon request of a patron. Patrons’ equities are redeemable only at the discretion of our Board of Directors and in accordance with the terms of the redemption policy adopted by our Board of Directors, which may be modified at any time without member consent. Redemptions of capital equity certificates approved by the Board of Directors are divided into two pools, one for non-individuals (primarily member cooperatives) who may participate in an annual retirement program for qualified equities held by them and another for individual members who are eligible for equity redemptions at age  70 or upon death. Beginning with fiscal 2017 patronage (for which distributions will be made in fiscal 2018), individuals will also be able to participate in an annual retirement program similar to the one that was previously only available to non-individual members. In accordance with authorization from our Board of Directors, we expect total redemptions related to the year ended August 31, 2016, that will be distributed in fiscal 2017, to be approximately $40.0 million. Additionally, we expect to redeem approximately $18.6 million of redemptions related to the year ended August 31, 2015 earnings that are carried over from the previous year’s authorization which had not been previously distributed. These redemptions will be distributed in fiscal 2017.

Cash redemptions of qualified patrons' and other equities during the years ended August 31, 2016 , 2015 and 2014 were $23.9 million , $128.9 million and $99.6 million , respectively. Additionally, in fiscal 2016, we redeemed approximately $76.8 million of patrons' equities by issuing 2,693,195 shares of Class B Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock Series 1("Class B Series 1 Preferred Stock") and, in fiscal 2014, we redeemed approximately $200.0 million of patrons' equity by issuing 6,752,188 shares of Class B Series 1 Preferred Stock.

Membership

We have two types of members, individuals and cooperative associations involved in agricultural production.

Debt and Equity Instruments

We may issue debt and equity instruments to our current members and patrons, on a patronage basis or otherwise, and to persons who are neither members nor patrons. On August 31, 2016 , our outstanding capital included patrons’ equities (consisting of qualified and non-qualified capital equity certificates and non-patronage equity certificates), five series of preferred stock and certain capital reserves.

As a membership cooperative, we do not have, nor are we authorized to issue, common stock. Subject to certain limited exceptions, holders of our preferred stock do not have voting rights, except as required by applicable law. All equity we issue is subject to a first lien in favor of us for all indebtedness of the holder to us. Dividends, which may be cumulative, may be paid on our equity capital, provided that dividends on such equity capital may not exceed eight percent (8%) per annum. All of our preferred stock is listed and traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market.

Tax Treatment

Subchapter T of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Internal Revenue Code"), sets forth rules for the tax treatment of cooperatives and applies to both cooperatives exempt from taxation under Section 521 of the Internal Revenue Code and to nonexempt corporations operating on a cooperative basis. We are a nonexempt cooperative.

As a cooperative, as long as we meet the applicable minimum cash distribution requirements described above, we are not taxed on qualified patronage allocated to our patrons either in the form of equities or cash. Consequently, those amounts are taxed only at the patron level. However, the amounts of any patronage earnings allocated as non-qualified written notices of allocation are taxable to us when allocated. Upon redemption of any non-qualified written notices of allocation, the amount is deductible to us and taxable to our patrons.

Income derived by us from non-patronage sources is not entitled to the “single tax” benefit of Subchapter T and is taxed to us at corporate income tax rates.