ADM Announces Election of Corporate Officers

DECATUR, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) today announced its Board of Directors elected Michael Baroni, Domingo Lastra, Joseph Taets and Gary Towne corporate officers. The appointments will be effective September 15, 2009.

Baroni was elected vice president. His scope of responsibility includes all commercial activity, operations and production for the Company’s Corn Processing business unit. Since joining ADM in 1982, Baroni has held business and sales management positions in the Company’s Corn Processing group. Most recently, he served as president, Specialty Food Ingredients. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in business management from Bradley University and earned a Masters of Business Administration from Illinois State University.

Lastra has been elected vice president. He oversees ADM’s South American operations. He joined ADM in 1994, and has held positions in the United States, Mexico, Paraguay and Brazil. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural economics from the Universidad de Belgrano in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Taets was elected vice president. He will be relocating from Europe to the Company’s headquarters and will be responsible for ADM Grain Company within the Agricultural Services business unit. Since joining the Company in 1988, Taets has held various trading and management positions in both North America and Europe. He most recently served as managing director, European Oilseeds. Taets received a bachelor’s degree from Iowa State University and a Master of Business Administration from Drake University.

Towne has been elected vice president. He will manage Alfred C. Toepfer International G.m.b.H., a global commodity trading business in which the Company owns a majority stake. He joined ADM in 1997 and has served in a variety of management and merchandising positions. In 2008, he was named general manager, Global Risk and Ethanol. Towne received a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from Indiana University.

About ADM

Every day, the 28,000 people of Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) turn crops into renewable products that meet the demands of a growing world. At more than 230 processing plants, we convert corn, oilseeds, wheat and cocoa into products for food, animal feed, chemical and energy uses. We operate the world’s premier crop origination and transportation network, connecting crops and markets in more than 60 countries. Our global headquarters is in Decatur, Illinois, and our net sales for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2009, were $69 billion. For more information about our Company and our products, visit www.adm.com.

ADM Media Relations, 217-424-5413
media@adm.com