ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA, US — Strong demand for grain and oilseeds, coupled with global market volatility, boosted CHS Inc. to net income of $219 million for the second quarter ended Feb. 28, compared with a loss a year ago.

The company reported revenue of $10.3 billion for the quarter. For the first six months of fiscal year 2022, the company reported net income of $671 million and revenues of $21.2 million, which compared with net income of $31.4 million and revenues of $17 billion in the same time period a year ago.

“The US agricultural industry continues to experience strong demand for grain and oilseed commodities,” said Jay Debertin, president and chief executive officer of CHS. “This strong demand combined with global market volatility contributed to higher earnings in the quarter. The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February has caused significant uncertainty and instability in global commodities markets, including agricultural commodities and crude oil. Despite these factors and inflationary pressures, CHS remains well positioned to continue to maximize value for our local cooperative and farmer-owners through our integrated global supply chain network.”

 In the Ag segment, pretax earnings of $55.2 million for the second quarter of fiscal year 2022 represent a $41.1 million increase versus the same period a year ago.

Strong global demand and market conditions resulted in increased earnings across most of the Ag segment businesses, including oilseed processing, renewable fuels and wholesale agronomy.

The business also experienced lower volumes of feed and farm supplies, due to supply chain constraints.

In Nitrogen Production, pretax earnings of $154.3 million for the second quarter of fiscal year 2022 represent a $143.1 million increase versus the same period a year ago.

Pretax earnings of $10.8 million in the Energy segment for the second quarter of fiscal year 2022 represent a $65.5 million increase versus the same period a year ago.

The results were driven by higher refining margins and more favorable pricing of heavy Canadian crude oil processed by our two refineries, which were partially offset by higher costs of renewable energy credits.

Lower propane margins were reflected in the quarter due to warmer winter weather conditions.