What do Whole Foods Market, Nestle, Catepillar, John Deere and ADM have in common?

All made Fortune magazine’s top 50 list of the World’s Most Admired Companies. The list was released online Feb. 19. Fortune bills the list as the “definitive report card on corporate reputations.”

Korn Ferry Hay Group surveyed 652 companies from 30 counties to create not only the top 50 list, but also 54 industry lists. In total, 340 companies made the lists.

Korn Ferry Hay Group solicits input from executives, directors and analysts to rate companies in their industries, using nine criteria. A company must rank in the top half of its industry to make the list.

A peek at the industry lists:

Fortune magazine releases its list of World's Most Admired Companies. (Photo: Givaga/Thinkstock)

-ADM ranked first in food production. The Chicago, Ill.-based company achieved top scores in management quality, financial soundness and long-term investment value.

“I am deeply proud of our ADM teams for the work they’ve done to earn this distinction,” said Juan Luciano, ADM chairman and CEO, in a media statement. “Our people work tirelessly each day to deliver exceptional value to our customers and shareholders, and the Fortune ranking is a tremendous validation of their efforts.”

-Bayer, based in Leverkusen, Germany, tied Monsanto for first place in the chemical industry. It received top ranking for product and service quality and global competitiveness.

-Monsanto, based in St. Louis, Mo., received top ranking for innovation, people management and use of corporate assets.

“We are incredibly proud to receive this recognition from Fortune for the third year in a row,” said Hugh Grant, Monsanto chairman and CEO, in a media statement. “This recognition is a direct reflection of the outstanding talent at Monsanto as well as our employees’ passion for developing agricultural solutions to help our farmer customers have better harvests.”

-Caterpillar, based in Peoria, Ill., ranked first in construction and farm machinery.

-Nestle, based in Vevey, Switzerland, ranked first in consumer food products. It ranked first in eight of nine categories: Innovation, people management, use of corporate assets, management quality, financial soundness, long-term investment value, quality of products and services and global competitiveness.

-Whole Foods Market, based in Austin, Texas, ranked first in innovation, people management, social responsibility and quality of products and services. It ranked first in food and drug store industry category.