Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 01, 2026

Cargill Incorporated

Technology area: Chemistry & Materials

71 pending office actions • 21 art units • 49 examiners • 0 of 71 (0%) have an AI response strategy ready • 54 patents granted in the last 365 days

Analysis

Cargill Incorporated manages an extensive portfolio with 69 pending office actions in the Chemistry & Materials technology area. The prosecution is widely distributed across 48 distinct examiners and 21 distinct art units, demonstrating immense technical and procedural diversity. GWARTNEY, ELIZABETH A is the busiest examiner, currently handling 4 pending office actions.

This broad footprint across 21 distinct art units indicates that the company's chemistry and materials research spans a vast array of specialized fields. Practitioners must manage a highly complex prosecution landscape with many different examiner styles and art unit-specific requirements. The distribution of cases across 48 distinct examiners suggests a strategy that avoids over-reliance on any single individual.

The company must maintain a consistent technical narrative while addressing a wide variety of examiner perspectives. This extensive distribution requires a robust and adaptable prosecution strategy to navigate the many different regulatory groups involved. The relatively low concentration of cases per examiner ensures that each application receives a specialized review.

Written from this page's own data; every figure is computed from USPTO records and verified before publication.

Portfolio Summary

71
Total Pending OAs
44
Non-Final OAs
24
Final Rejections
3
Advisory / Quayle

Response Deadline Pressure

Based on the USPTO statutory response window for each pending office action. 22 of the docket's apps have a known mailing date; the rest are excluded from the tile counts.

7
Overdue
1
Due this week
13
Due this month
0
Due in next 60 days
1
Due later

Deadline Fire Line

Every pending office action with a known statutory deadline, placed on a days-until-due axis. Dots left of Today are overdue; the further right, the more runway. Cases that share a deadline window stack vertically. 22 of the docket's apps have a known mailing date.

-30dToday30d60d90d120d
Overdue (7)Due ≤ 7 days (1)Due ≤ 30 days (13)Due later (1)

Case Difficulty Mix

Difficulty is derived from the rejection statutes on the most recent pending office action. §101-driven and multi-statute cases are graded Hard; §112-only and obviousness-type double-patenting cases are graded Easy; everything else is Medium. "Unknown" means we have not yet parsed a statute for that office action.

25
Hard (35%)
41
Medium (58%)
5
Easy (7%)
0
Unknown (0%)

Rejection Statute Mix

BucketCases
§101 + other2 (3%)
§103 only24 (34%)
§102 only2 (3%)
§112 only4 (6%)
Double-patenting only1 (1%)
Double-patenting + other15 (21%)
Multi-statute (no §101)23 (32%)

Industry Mix

How the docket's pending cases split across USPTO tech-center bands.

52
Life Sciences
73% of docket
1
Information Tech
1% of docket
0
Communications
0% of docket
1
Semiconductors
1% of docket
1
Mechanical / Eng
1% of docket
16
Business / Other
23% of docket

Time-on-OA Estimate

Manual office-action response work runs about 10 hours per case. The time-saved bands below show what IP Author's prosecution pipeline typically delivers — a conservative 20% on the low end, 35% in the middle, 50% on the high end.

710 h
Manual time on pending OAs
142 h
Time saved (low, 20%)
248 h
Time saved (mid, 35%)
6.2 wks
FTE-weeks freed (mid)

Top Examiners on this docket

ExaminerApps on this docketAllow rateInterview lift
GWARTNEY, ELIZABETH A 4 36.0% +34.8%
MERRIAM, ANDREW E 4 26.8% +32.4%
O'HERN, BRENT T 3 78.5% +19.8%
GLIMM, CARRIE LYNN STOFFEL 3 25.6% +14.1%
JACOBSON, MICHELE LYNN 3 28.0% +32.9%
DUBOIS, PHILIP A 3 25.5% +26.3%
BEKKER, KELLY JO 3 16.7% +35.4%
GOLOBOY, JAMES C 2 63.7% +8.7%
MUKHOPADHYAY, BHASKAR 2 28.2% +37.0%
CHAWLA, JYOTI 2 52.7% +30.3%

Hard Cases (35)

Multi-statute / §101-driven matters, or cases in front of an examiner with an allow rate under 30%. The top 8 ordered by deadline are shown.

App #TitleExaminerDue in
17999943 VEGAN COMPOSITION FOR BAKING MERRIAM, ANDREW E 160d overdue
17745216 REDUCTION OF FUMONISIN IN CORN PROTEIN PRODUCTS GLIMM, CARRIE LYNN STOFFEL 91d overdue
18260101 NATURAL OIL-BASED COMPOSITION THAT MIMICS PETROLATUM AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME JANOSKO, CHASITY PAIGE 36d overdue
18260117 NATURAL OIL-BASED PETROLATUM AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME SCOTLAND, REBECCA LYNN 31d overdue
18558579 COCOA COMPOSITION BEKKER, KELLY JO 10d overdue
18721672 SHORT-PATH EVAPORATION PROCESSES JACOBSON, MICHELE LYNN 12d
18721668 SHORT-PATH EVAPORATION PROCESSES JACOBSON, MICHELE LYNN 12d
18721669 SHORT-PATH EVAPORATION PROCESSES JACOBSON, MICHELE LYNN 12d

Interview Candidates (27)

Cases in front of an examiner whose interview lift is 10 percentage points or more — i.e. interviewed cases historically resolve more favorably than non-interviewed ones. The top 8 ordered by deadline are shown.

App #TitleExaminerDue in
17999943 VEGAN COMPOSITION FOR BAKING MERRIAM, ANDREW E 160d overdue
17745216 REDUCTION OF FUMONISIN IN CORN PROTEIN PRODUCTS GLIMM, CARRIE LYNN STOFFEL 91d overdue
18558579 COCOA COMPOSITION BEKKER, KELLY JO 10d overdue
18721672 SHORT-PATH EVAPORATION PROCESSES JACOBSON, MICHELE LYNN 12d
18721668 SHORT-PATH EVAPORATION PROCESSES JACOBSON, MICHELE LYNN 12d
18721669 SHORT-PATH EVAPORATION PROCESSES JACOBSON, MICHELE LYNN 12d
18044592 CONFECTIONERY COMPOSITIONS MERRIAM, ANDREW E 13d
18044593 CONFECTIONERY COMPOSITIONS MERRIAM, ANDREW E 21d

Top Art Units

Art UnitApps
1791 13
1793 10
1792 9
1771 2
1759 2
1731 2
1611 2
1657 2
3735 1
2877 1

Pending Office Actions

App #TitleExaminerArt UnitStatutesStatusDue inAIFiled
19108912 INTEGRATED LIQUID CONTAINER SYSTEM AND METHOD OF ASSEMBLY THEREOF REYNOLDS, STEVEN ALAN 3735 §103 Final Rejection 65d Pending Mar 05, 2025
19027099 SOLUBLE FLOUR AND METHODS OF MANUFACTURING SAME AXTELL, ASHLEY 1792 §103 Non-Final OA — Pending Jan 17, 2025
18863702 GENETICALLY MODIFIED YEAST AND FERMENTATION PROCESSES FOR THE PRODUCTION OF XYLITOL RAGHU, GANAPATHIRAM — §102§103§112DP Non-Final OA — Pending Nov 07, 2024
18863705 GENETICALLY MODIFIED YEAST AND FERMENTATION PROCESSES FOR THE PRODUCTION OF ARABITOL ROBINSON, HOPE A — §103§112DP Non-Final OA — Pending Nov 07, 2024
18863710 GENETICALLY MODIFIED YEAST AND FERMENTATION PROCESSES FOR THE PRODUCTION OF ARABITOL KUBELIK, ANNE R — §112 Non-Final OA — Pending Nov 07, 2024
18863107 CHEESE SUBSTITUTE PRODUCT GWARTNEY, ELIZABETH A — §103§112DP Non-Final OA — Pending Nov 05, 2024
18863121 CHEESE SUBSTITUTE PRODUCT GWARTNEY, ELIZABETH A — §103 Non-Final OA — Pending Nov 05, 2024
18862370 TREATED VEGETABLE PROTEIN PRODUCT AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME O'HERN, BRENT T — §102§103§112DP Non-Final OA — Pending Nov 01, 2024
18856237 PROCESS FOR PREPARING BISCUIT FILLINGS GWARTNEY, ELIZABETH A — §103§112 Non-Final OA — Pending Oct 11, 2024
18899072 SENSOR SYSTEM FOR DETERMINING A THICKNESS OF A MATERIAL BODY BRYANT, REBECCA CAROLE 2877 DP Final Rejection — Pending Sep 27, 2024
18850418 CANDLE WAX COMPOSITIONS GOLOBOY, JAMES C 1771 §103 Non-Final OA — Pending Sep 24, 2024
18850428 CANDLE WAX COMPOSITIONS GOLOBOY, JAMES C 1771 §103§112 Non-Final OA — Pending Sep 24, 2024
18840328 MEAT SUBSTITUTE PRODUCT MUKHOPADHYAY, BHASKAR — §103 Non-Final OA — Pending Aug 21, 2024
18839797 EMOLLIENT COMPOSITION CAIN, JENNIFER LYNN — §102§103§112 Non-Final OA — Pending Aug 20, 2024
18834675 SUNFLOWER OLEOSOME FRACTION AND PROCESS FOR PREPARING IT GLIMM, CARRIE LYNN STOFFEL — §103§112DP Non-Final OA — Pending Jul 31, 2024
18834679 SUNFLOWER OLEOSOME CONCENTRATE AND PROCESS FOR PREPARING IT VISHNYAKOVA, ELENA VLADIMIROVNA — §102§103§112DP Non-Final OA — Pending Jul 31, 2024
18724797 ALTERNATIVE PROTEIN CRUMBLES O'HERN, BRENT T — §102§103§112 Non-Final OA — Pending Jun 27, 2024
18721672 SHORT-PATH EVAPORATION PROCESSES JACOBSON, MICHELE LYNN 1793 §103DP Final Rejection 12d Pending Jun 19, 2024
18721668 SHORT-PATH EVAPORATION PROCESSES JACOBSON, MICHELE LYNN 1793 §103DP Final Rejection 12d Pending Jun 19, 2024
18721669 SHORT-PATH EVAPORATION PROCESSES JACOBSON, MICHELE LYNN 1793 §103DP Final Rejection 12d Pending Jun 19, 2024
18721352 ENGINEERED WOOD ADHESIVES INCLUDING ENHANCED PROTEIN PEA FLOUR AND ENGINEERED WOOD THEREFROM KRUER, KEVIN R 1787 §103 Non-Final OA — Pending Jun 18, 2024
18719331 PROCESS FOR REMOVING IMPURITIES FROM VEGETABLE OIL GWARTNEY, ELIZABETH A 1759 §103 Final Rejection — Pending Jun 13, 2024
18719108 A PALM OIL BASED SHORTENING COMPOSITION WITH ENHANCED FLAVOR AND A METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME PRAKASH, SUBBALAKSHMI 1793 §103 Non-Final OA — Pending Jun 12, 2024
18734147 CORN PROTEIN ISOLATE AND METHODS OF MANUFACTURING SAME TURNER, FELICIA C — §103 Non-Final OA — Pending Jun 05, 2024
18715942 SENSORY MODIFIERS FOR REDUCED SUGAR COCOA COMPOSITIONS MERRIAM, ANDREW E 1791 §102§103§112 Non-Final OA — Pending Jun 03, 2024
18710762 PERSONAL CARE PRODUCT CONTAINING NATURAL OIL-BASED PETROLATUM O'HERN, BRENT T — §101§102§103§112 Non-Final OA — Pending May 16, 2024
18706438 CHEESE ANALOGUE PRODUCT INCLUDING CORN PROTEIN ISOLATE GLIMM, CARRIE LYNN STOFFEL 1793 §103§112 Non-Final OA — Pending May 01, 2024
18697178 AERATED FAT-BASED CONFECTIONARY MATERIAL RODGERS, ARIEL M 1792 §103 Non-Final OA — Pending Mar 29, 2024
18689965 MEAT ANALOGUE PRODUCTS COMPRISING MODIFIED STARCH DUBOIS, PHILIP A 1791 §103 Final Rejection — Pending Mar 07, 2024
18682721 ANTI-CAKING COMPOSITION FOR SALT KERSHAW, KELLY P 1791 §103§112 Non-Final OA — Pending Feb 09, 2024
18681199 SENSORY MODIFIERS CHAWLA, JYOTI 1791 §102§103 Non-Final OA — Pending Feb 05, 2024
18580260 SAUCE GLAZING APPARATUS AND APPLICATION METHOD TADESSE, YEWEBDAR T — §102§103§112 Non-Final OA — Pending Jan 18, 2024
18579967 WATER BASED BARRIER COATING GUINO-O UZZLE, MARITES A 1731 §103§112 Non-Final OA — Pending Jan 17, 2024
18572037 PIGMENT FOR MEAT SUBSTITUTE COMPOSITIONS CHAWLA, JYOTI 1791 §103 Non-Final OA — Pending Dec 19, 2023
18570053 SENSORY MODIFIERS FOR DAIRY SUBSTITUTE COMPOSITIONS BEKKER, KELLY JO 1792 §102§103§112DP Non-Final OA — Pending Dec 13, 2023
18564975 ENGINEERED WOOD ADHESIVES AND ENGINEERED WOOD PRODUCT THEREFROM ROLLAND, ALEX A 1759 §103§112 Non-Final OA 29d Pending Nov 28, 2023
18564916 METHODS OF PRODUCING DIALKYL MALONATE ESTERS AND USES THEREOF PARSA, JAFAR F — §103§112 Non-Final OA — Pending Nov 28, 2023
18559735 METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR CONTAMINATION INTERVENTION BEKKER, KELLY JO 1792 §102§103§112 Final Rejection — Pending Nov 08, 2023
18558579 COCOA COMPOSITION BEKKER, KELLY JO 1792 §103§112 Final Rejection 10d overdue Pending Nov 02, 2023
18454400 STABILIZED STARCH GERLA, STEPHANIE RAE 1791 §103 Non-Final OA — Pending Aug 23, 2023
18546868 REMOVAL OF UNWANTED MINERAL OIL HYDROCARBONS CARR, DEBORAH D 1691 §112 Final Rejection 14d Pending Aug 17, 2023
18260117 NATURAL OIL-BASED PETROLATUM AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME SCOTLAND, REBECCA LYNN 1615 §103§112Other Non-Final OA 31d overdue Pending Jun 30, 2023
18260093 NATURAL OIL-BASED PETROLATUM AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME MATTISON, LORI K 1619 §103Other Non-Final OA — Pending Jun 30, 2023
18260101 NATURAL OIL-BASED COMPOSITION THAT MIMICS PETROLATUM AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME JANOSKO, CHASITY PAIGE 1613 §103§112 Non-Final OA 36d overdue Pending Jun 30, 2023
18258624 ENGINEERED WOOD ADHESIVES INCLUDING GLYCEROL OR OLIGOMERS OF GLYCEROL AND ENGINEERED WOOD THEREFROM RIOJA, MELISSA A 1764 §102§103§112DP Final Rejection 49d overdue Pending Jun 21, 2023
18254304 MEAT SUBSTITUTE PRODUCT MUKHOPADHYAY, BHASKAR 1792 §103 Final Rejection — Pending May 24, 2023
18248992 PIGMENT FOR MEAT SUBSTITUTE COMPOSITIONS HAWKINS, AMANDA SALATA 1793 §103 Non-Final OA 70d overdue Pending Apr 13, 2023
18044593 CONFECTIONERY COMPOSITIONS MERRIAM, ANDREW E 1791 §102§103 Non-Final OA 21d Pending Mar 09, 2023
18044592 CONFECTIONERY COMPOSITIONS MERRIAM, ANDREW E 1791 §103§112 Non-Final OA 13d Pending Mar 09, 2023
18042654 EDIBLE FOOD WRAP COMPOSITION TRAN, LIEN THUY 1793 §103 Non-Final OA — Pending Feb 23, 2023
18041463 METHODS AND EQUIPMENT FOR MAKING IRREGULAR-SHAPED EGG PRODUCTS TAYLOR, AUSTIN PARKER 1792 §103 Non-Final OA 28d Pending Feb 13, 2023
18040177 REMOVAL OF UNWANTED MINERAL OIL HYDROCARBONS SILVERMAN, JANICE Y 1792 §103DP Non-Final OA — Pending Feb 01, 2023
18007310 REMOVAL OF UNWANTED MINERAL OIL HYDROCARBONS HAWKINS, AMANDA SALATA 1793 §103 Non-Final OA — Pending Jan 30, 2023
18000159 TIME INTENSITY DOMINANCE OF SENSATION (TIDS) HEFFINGTON, JOHN M 2145 §103§112 Non-Final OA — Pending Nov 29, 2022
17999943 VEGAN COMPOSITION FOR BAKING MERRIAM, ANDREW E 1791 §103§112 Final Rejection 160d overdue Pending Nov 28, 2022
17999765 ENGINEERED WOOD ADHESIVES AND ENGINEERED WOOD THEREFROM NILAND, PATRICK DENNIS 1762 §103DP Non-Final OA 8d Pending Nov 23, 2022
17999752 RUMINANT FEED INCLUDING A FATTY ACID-PROTECTED PROTEIN LOVE, TREVOR M 1611 §102 Final Rejection 7d Pending Nov 23, 2022
17999736 FUNCTIONAL SOYBEAN MEAL SILVERMAN, JANICE Y 1792 §103§112 Final Rejection — Pending Nov 23, 2022
17998898 INTERESTERIFIED COTTONSEED STEARIN AS ALTERNATIVE FAT DUBOIS, PHILIP A 1791 §103 Final Rejection — Pending Nov 15, 2022
17998223 METHOD FOR PRODUCING A FABRIC IMPREGNATED WITH A BINDER COMPOSITION STEELE, JENNIFER A 1789 §103 Final Rejection — Pending Nov 08, 2022
17904555 ENGINEERED WOOD ADHESIVES AND ENGINEERED WOOD THEREFROM HON, SOW FUN 1782 §103§112 Non-Final OA — Pending Aug 18, 2022
17758908 FERMENTATION METHOD MONSHIPOURI, MARYAM 1651 §112 Final Rejection — Pending Jul 15, 2022
17785207 ISOLATED OLEOSOME COMPOSITION AND PROCESS FOR PREPARING IT ALAM, AYAAN A 1611 §103DP Final Rejection 23d Pending Jun 14, 2022
17785151 Nutritional Composition and Process for Preparing It SWEENEY, MAURA ELIZABETH 1791 §103 Final Rejection — Pending Jun 14, 2022
17785171 ISOLATED OLEOSOME COMPOSITION AND PROCESS FOR PREPARING IT LI, CHANGQING 1791 §103DPOther Final Rejection — Pending Jun 14, 2022
17836068 SEAWEED-BASED POWDER DURYEE, ALEXANDER MARSH 1657 §112 Final Rejection — Pending Jun 09, 2022
17756130 BINDER COMPOSITION INCLUDING BIO-BASED COMPONENT CASE, SARAH CATHERINE 1731 §103 Non-Final OA 30d Pending May 18, 2022
17745216 REDUCTION OF FUMONISIN IN CORN PROTEIN PRODUCTS GLIMM, CARRIE LYNN STOFFEL 1793 §103§112 Non-Final OA 91d overdue Pending May 16, 2022
17707432 Steviol Glycoside Compositions for Oral Ingestion or Use MORNHINWEG, JEFFREY P 1793 §102 Non-Final OA 29d Pending Mar 29, 2022
16982368 SEAWEED-BASED POWDER DURYEE, ALEXANDER MARSH 1657 §101§102§103§112DP Final Rejection 29d Pending Sep 18, 2020
15770700 EMULSION AND PROCESS FOR MAKING SAME DUBOIS, PHILIP A 1791 §103 Final Rejection — Pending Apr 24, 2018

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