CHICAGO — Ardent Mills sustained positive momentum in the second quarter of fiscal year 2021, according to a Form 10-Q filed Jan. 6 with the Securities and Exchange Commission by Conagra Brands, Inc. Conagra holds a 44% stake in Ardent Mills, a joint venture.

According to the filing, Conagra equity method earnings in the quarter ended Nov. 28, 2021, were $29.5 million, up 28% from $23 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2021. Earnings were modestly higher than the $27.6 million recorded in the second period of fiscal 2020.

In the first half of the fiscal year, equity method investment earnings at Conagra were $49.7 million, up 68% from $29.5 million the year before. 

The strong results “reflected favorable market conditions,” Conagra said in its filing. It was the fourth consecutive quarter in which Conagra used the phrase “reflected favorable market conditions” to describe the results of its investments.

Also in the filing, Conagra stated again that in fiscal 2021, the company “completed a restructuring of our ownership interest in the Ardent Mills joint venture, a milling business, that utilized a portion of our capital loss carryforward prior to its expiration.”

Other owners of Ardent Mills, the largest milling company in the United States, include Cargill (44%) and CHS (12%).