Kansas City, Mo. ? Farmland Industries Inc., which remains mired in bankruptcy court, announced Monday it earned $29 million during the second quarter.

Farmland’s earnings for the quarter that ended Feb. 28 compared with losses of $49.7 million during the same period last year.

The Kansas City, Mo.-based company, the nation’s largest agriculture cooperative, reported sales of $1.6 billion for the first quarter, up 5 percent from $1.5 billion a year earlier. In a news release, Farmland said its cash flow “significantly exceeded” requirements in its borrowing agreement.

Since filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last May, Farmland has reduced its debt by more than $130 million to $270 million.

Bob Terry, president of Farmland, said the company’s reorganization is on course. The cooperative has not yet filed a detailed plan with the court, but managers have said they will propose reorganizing Farmland around its pork processing business.

That business, Farmland Foods, made $8.7 million during the second quarter, up from $1.96 million a year earlier.

Farmland’s beef business — its interest in Farmland National Beef, which was not part of the bankruptcy filing — reported earnings of $5.8 million, down from $10.2 million in the second quarter of 2002. The cooperative said margins were down throughout the industry due to tighter cattle supplies.

The company’s crop production business, which Farmland has agreed to sell to Koch Nitrogen Co. in Wichita for $293 million, lost $1.9 million, compared with a loss of $35.9 million during the same period of 2002.

Farmland still has a nitrogen fertilizer plant in Lawrence that has been shutdown since May 2001. The plant was not included in the Koch deal, and Farmland continues to seek a buyer.