More than $28,000 donated to local activities

Date: 25 April 2011

Contact: Mike Martin, 316-291-2126, michael_martin@cargill.com

SPRINGDALE, Ark. — With company support, Northwest Arkansas Cargill employees are in the midst of a two-month series of environmental conservation and improvement activities that support Earth Day in the U.S. Collaboration with The Arkansas Canoe Club, and the Washington County Extension Service, for the April 12 cleanup of the area's Scull Creek kicked off the activities, which will conclude with participation in the Nature Conservancy's Corporate Council on Conservations May 20 spring meeting and luncheon. Scores of Cargill employees will participate in numerous events and activities that benefit the environment in Northwest Arkansas. In addition, during this period Cargill is donating a total of more than $28,000 to fund environmental activities throughout the region.

On April 23, Cargill employees are volunteering to help with the Illinois River Watershed Partnership Day and, on April 28-30, Cargill-sponsored rain barrel workshops will take place at Owl Creek Schools as part of its Appleseed Project. The rain barrel workshops will teach children the importance of water conservation and home garden use of water captured in rain barrels.

Other activities include recycling cell phones to create funds for a tree-planting effort (www.plantmyphone.com), an Ozark Nature Science Center Rain Garden Planting the first week of May, and providing Cargill employees with seed packets for use in building their own rain gardens. Earlier in April, Cargill volunteers helped clean up two local waterways, Scull Creek referenced previously, and Hamestring Creek on April 19. A May 7 event will involve employee volunteers planting a rain garden at Murphy Park in partnership with Illinois River Watershed Partnership, City of Springdale and the Springdale Leadership class.

Additionally, on April 16 at the annual Call of the Wild gala Cargill announced a $10,000 gift to Ozark Natural Science Center to help build an educational rain garden at the facility and subsidize the journals that more than 4,000 children will receive for use when they visit the center. Also, Cargill is a finalist for the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality's ENVY award.

"Dating back to the company's founding in 1865 as a small grain operation in rural Iowa, Cargill has always believed the communities in which it operates must prosper for the company to prosper," said Steve Willardsen, Wichita-based president of Cargill Value Added Meats – Retail, which has significant operations in Springdale. "While our employees are committed to doing a great job for the company and our customers, they are also passionate about supporting the communities in which they live. Being an agriculturally based business, we understand the value of the environment and the benefit in protecting it for future generations. That's embedded in our corporate DNA, and we are proud to participate in activities that help people gain a better understanding about the importance of sustainability and being good environmental stewards."

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About Cargill

Cargill is an international producer and marketer of food, agricultural, financial and industrial products and services. Founded in 1865, the privately held company employs 131,000 people in 66 countries. Cargill helps customers succeed through collaboration and innovation, and is committed to applying its global knowledge and experience to help meet economic, environmental and social challenges wherever it does business. For more information, visit www.cargill.com.

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