When is the last time you thought about linseed? Have you even seen that word in print lately? Did you know that linseed and flaxseed are the same thing? The seeds come from the common flax plant (linum usitatissimum) and if you’re crushing or pressing the seeds for human consumption in the form of fiber or oil, we tend to call it flaxseed. When the seeds are processed for the purposes of making furniture polish, paints, or cloth (linen…now we’re seeing things oh so clearly) then linseed is the more common term. Maybe. The truth is the terms are interchangeable and the use in the UK differs from American English.
So, you likely know that if you take a spoonful of flaxseeds and grind them up you have a small amount of flax meal you can add to a smoothie or baked goods for extra nutrition. Or you can add the whole seeds directly to some dough for a tasty multigrain bread. But do you know what you get if you scale your production way up and process tons and tons of linseed? You get rich.
There’s a company that has been crushing linseed for over a hundred years and on January 26, 2023, they announced a dividend increase that represents 50 consecutive years of annual increases in their dividend, making them a Dividend King.
All hail Archer-Daniels-Midland Co!
Sewing Their Seeds
Once, there was a man whose surname was Archer; I do not care to research this gentleman’s first name. He made linseed oil. Eventually, he had a son whom he named William S. and he in turn made linseed oil. In fact, he became the owner of a linseed factory in Dayton, Ohio. Circa 1850, William had a son that he named George. In his twenties, George A. Archer worked in his father’s factory and then in 1884, just like his father, he opened his own linseed factory, only this factory was in Yankton, South Dakota. Later, he moved that business to Minneapolis thinking that if you really want to extract oil from seeds, you do it in Minnesota. In 1889, he sold the factory to American Linseed Co. But let’s go back in time once more.
It’s February 23, 1857, in Piqua, Ohio. A baby boy named John W. Daniels enters the world. I am positive that if you asked that child what he wanted to be when he grew up, he would not say, “I want to work with linseed.” Yet, his documented work history makes it seem like he couldn’t avoid it. He first worked for a linseed company in his hometown. Then he joined American Linseed Co. in Buffalo, New York. Did John first learn the name George A. Archer when the company he worked at acquired George’s factory out in Minnesota? Somebody knows. Anyway, John eventually becomes a manager of a linseed factory back in Cleveland, just 200 miles from his hometown.
In 1902, Daniels creates the Daniels Linseed Co. in Minneapolis, Minnesota and gives himself the title of president, though he thought the title of Linseed Czar was compelling. In 1903, George A. Archer joins John W. Daniels. In my mind, the conversation went something like this:
“George, do you ever long to get your hands back in the seeds?”
“I will confess, I miss it.”
“Dude, it’s been what, thirteen, fourteen years? What do you think of joining me here? Cuz, I gotta be frank – when you were runnin’ the show, you really crushed it.”
“It?”
“Well, them. You really crushed the seeds.”
“I’m in. But I want my name to come first, and I want to be CEO.”
“Ok, but only because it’s in alphabetical order and I hate supervising.”
The Company name is changed to the Archer Daniels Linseed Company in 1905. When they purchased Midland Linseed Products Co. in 1912, it became known as Archer Daniels Midland. You can imagine how the rest of this company’s history has gone. Questions like: ‘Can we press other seeds into oils?’ and ‘What if we were to grind or crush something other than seeds?’ and ‘What do you think about transporting and storing the stuff we grind and crush and press?’ were all answered in the positive.
According to TD Ameritrade:
Archer-Daniels-Midland Company is a human and animal nutrition company. The Company is an agricultural supply chain manager and processor. It operates through three business segments: Ag Services and Oilseeds, Carbohydrate Solutions, and Nutrition. The Ag Services and Oilseeds segment includes global activities related to the origination, merchandising, transportation, and storage of agricultural raw materials, and the crushing and further processing of oilseeds such as soybeans and soft seeds into vegetable oils and protein meals. The Carbohydrate Solutions segment is engaged in corn and wheat wet and dry milling and other activities. The Nutrition segment is engaged in the manufacturing, sale, and distribution of a range of ingredients and solutions, including plant-based proteins, natural flavors, flavor systems, natural colors, emulsifiers, soluble fiber, polyols, hydrocolloids, probiotics, prebiotics, enzymes, botanical extracts, and other specialty food and feed ingredients.
Archer-Daniels-Midland Co [ADM] becomes the 50th Dividend King and the 14th King from the Consumer Staples sector. Here is the list of all the Kings in the Consumer Staples sector and the Industry in which they conduct their business.
| Company | Ticker | Industry |
| Altria Group Inc | MO | Tobacco |
| Archer-Daniels-Midland Co | ADM | Food Products |
| Coca-Cola Co | KO | Beverages |
| Colgate-Palmolive Co | CL | Household Products |
| Hormel Foods Corp | HRL | Food Products |
| Kimberly-Clark Corp | KMB | Household Products |
| Lancaster Colony Corp | LANC | Food Products |
| PepsiCo Inc | PEP | Beverages |
| Procter & Gamble Co | PG | Household Products |
| Sysco Corp | SYY | Distribution & Retail |
| Target Corp | TGT | Distribution & Retail |
| Tootsie Roll Industries Inc | TR | Food Products |
| Universal Corp | UVV | Tobacco |
| Walmart Stores Inc | WMT | Distribution & Retail |
There is a tremendous amount of diversity within any given sector and Consumer Staples is no different. Even within Industry, there is large diversity. Sure, we can see the similarities between Coca-cola [KO] and PepsiCo [PEP] but if you don’t see the difference between Tootsie Roll Industries [TR] and Archer-Daniels Midland [ADM], I’m not sure I can help you. Take my word for it, of the fourteen companies above, ADM is unique; no one is doing what they do.
So, the next time you find yourself eating a cracked flax puff because your conscience has told you that bacon isn’t healthy, think about Archer-Daniels-Midland Co and consider investing in them as much as you’re investing in your health.